March 6, 2009
MANOA, Hawai'i. -- After one day of play at the Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament, the Santa Clara softball team, 1-10 overall, fell to No. 25 Mississippi State, 11-3, and to tournament hosts University of Hawai'i, 9-0. Hawai'i native, senior Noelani Ho'opi'i posted her seventh hit of the season versus Mississippi in the fourth inning. With one out and runners on second and third, the Bronco first baseman singled up the middle to score two runs. Down, 5-2, after Ho'opi'i's two-RBI hit, the SCU captain responded with a third straight Santa Clara run in the inning, in what appeared to be a Bronco comeback. Pitch hitter Stephanie Smith was at the plate and Ho'opi'i stole home on a Bulldog wild pitch.
Freshman outfielder Briana Knight tallied her ninth and tenth hits of the season versus MSU. She led off the bottom of the first inning with a single to right center and doubled in the seventh inning. She posts a .323 batting average, eight RBIs, five doubles and two home runs on the season. The Northern California native and Ho'opi'i are the only two players to start in all 11 contests this season. Santa Clara tallied five hits and five walks versus the twenty-fifth ranked Bulldogs.
Down two runs in the top of the seventh, the Bronco defense broke down and let the game slip away from them. The inning led off with a SCU error, foreshadowing what would be a problematic inning for Santa Clara. Mississippi's Ali Bainbridge then singled and was followed by Courtney Moore, who reached on a second SCU error of the inning. With MSU runners on second and third, Courtney Nesbit singled to center, scoring two runs. Continuing Mississippi's scoring run was first baseman Sammie Jo Bailey who singled to left, scoring the third and fourth runs of the inning. A final Bulldog run was scored when Bailey ran home on a SCU wild pitch.
In the second game of the day, the Broncos were shutout, 9-0, in five innings by host Hawai'i. Sophomore Amanda Edmonson earned SCU's lone hit of the game. In the top of the fourth inning, Edmonson doubled to left field, for her second two-bagger of the season.
The Broncos look to bounce back on Friday, March 6, versus Mount Saint Mary's and Radford. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. versus MSM and 3 p.m. versus RU. All times are Pacific.
