Feb. 22, 2009
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Behind the bat of freshman outfielder Briana Knight, the Santa Clara softball team earned their first win of the season over CSU Bakersfield, 8-5, Sunday afternoon. Knight led the Bronco offense with three RBIs and a home run. SCU had a solid all-around comeback outing, as they fell, 8-2, in the morning to Bakersfield.
"We had a good weekend overall," said head coach Lisa Mize. "It is great to come home with a win. Today's win was a complete team effort!"
In the afternoon victory, the Broncos were down a run until a breakthrough fourth inning. Ashley Grove came in the lineup to pitch hit for Nicole Picard, with the bases loaded. Grove singled to left field, scoring Jenna Fong and Noelani Ho'opi'i. Jackie Nicora, who was on first, advanced to third on Groves' hit and was able to get home off a CSUB illegal pitch. Knight concluded the four run inning, with a fly out to score Grove.
In the fifth inning, Bakersfield responded to SCU's offensively sound fourth inning with three runs, to tie the game at four-all. The Broncos took the lead for the second time in the game, off a Knight solo homerun in the top of the sixth. The Roadrunner's once again responded with a tying run.
A determined SCU squad came back in the seventh inning came back battling for their first win. Megan Smith led off the inning with a triple and was able to score what would be the game winning run off a Kristin Welsh single to shortstop. Ho'opi'i flied out to centerfield to score Welsh, and Knight concluded the Broncos' three run inning with a walk that brought home Fong.
The Bronco's were able to prevent a sweep from Bakersfield, as they fell to the Roadrunners in the morning and on Saturday, 7-5.
In the morning, SCU took a, 1-0, lead in the top of the third off a Ho'opi'i RBI fly out, but CSUB immediately answered back with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Broncos once again got back on the board with a run off the bat of Emily Batt who hit a double play which scored Fong; however the Broncos could not rally back, as Bakersfield continued on to score four more runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
"We know what areas we need to work on to continue to improve," said Mize. "Throughout the weekend we battled and fought hard in all four games."
The Broncos look to build on today's win as they remain on the road for their next 12 games. SCU will next travel to Davis, Calif. to take on the Aggies of UC Davis in a doubleheader on Wednesday, February 25. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
