SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Broncos softball team dropped two more tight games to Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) rival Sacramento State on Saturday. Santa Clara received a complete-game pitching effort from junior Carissa Theis in the opener, while Stephanie Fisher and Jordan Newell provided three RBI each, but the Hornets completed the four-game series sweep with a pair of wins by scores of, 5-4 and 7-4.
Santa Clara (7-31; 2-6 PCSC) was trying to build off a pair of wins over LMU last weekend in Los Angeles, but Sacramento State (21-13; 4-3 PCSC) was able to escape with four wins Friday and Saturday, having to rally back from a pair of deficits on Saturday.
In the opener, SCU scored four runs in the fourth, highlighted by a bases-clearing double off the bat of Newell, a local product of St. Ignatius College Prep. The 3-RBI double put the Broncos up 4-2.
Sac State rallied to score two runs in the top of the seventh, with the go-ahead single coming from recent Livermore High School graduate Kaitlyn Taylor. The one-run win for Sac State gave the homestanding Hornets another close decision, following wins of 3-0 and 2-1 Friday.
The Broncos responded nicely in Game Two Saturday, positioned to win the final game, leading 4-0 heading into the the sixth. It was Fisher putting SCU on the scoreboard and giving the Broncos a 2-0 lead with a 2-RBI double to left-centerfield in the fourth.
Freshman catcher Breezy Bernard drove in two more in the fifth to push the lead to 4-0. However, it was Sacramento State scoring two in the sixth and four more in the seventh to steal the finale. Taylor and Melissa Navarro both hit two-run homers in the seventh to cap Sac State's comeback win.
Friday-Saturday, April 6-7 - Shea Stadium (Sacramento, Calif.)
FRI - Sacramento State 3, Santa Clara 0 - FINAL
FRI - Sacramento State 2, Santa Clara 1 - FINAL
SAT - Sacramento State 5, Santa Clara 4 - FINAL
SAT - Sacramento State 7, Santa Clara 4 - FINAL
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