SANTA CLARA, Calif. –Santa Clara softball beat LMU by a final of 4-3 and fell 5-3 on Friday. The Broncos are now 11-25 overall and 1-2 in WCC play while the Lions are now 20-22 and 2-1 in conference action.
Santa Clara returns to the field Sat., April 11 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at Saint Mary's.
Game 1
Ciara Gonzales (8-11) started for Santa Clara and picked up a no-decision in 6.0 innings. Gonzales allowed two runs on five hits with a strikeout. McCall James (2-4) picked up the win in 1.0 inning out of the bullpen. Breezy Bernard was 1-3 with two RBI to lead the offense. Casandra Padilla was 3-4 with an RBI while Jordan Newell was 1-3 with an RBI.
Rachael Farrington (14-11) started for LMU and picked up a loss in 6.1 innings. Farrington allowed four runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout. Alicia Brown was 2-3 with a home run to lead the offense.
The bottom of the first started with a walk to Ellie Fisher. After a wild pitch, Padilla bunted the ball over the first baseman for a hit to put runners on the corners. Padilla swiped second but a lineout to first turned into a double play when Fisher got too far off third. Farrington escaped the inning with a pop up by the next batter.
LMU put a runner on third with one out in the top of the third on a double and sacrifice bunt. A diving catch in left by Chiara Biagini was originally ruled a sacrifice fly but an appeal revealed the runner never tagged up and the double play ended the inning with the game scoreless.
Alex Finie doubled to right center to start the fourth and Stephanie Maciel followed with a single through the left side. A double play brought in the first run of the game for LMU.
Brown hit a lead off homer in the fifth to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
With one down in the sixth Fisher laid down a bunt for a single. Padilla singled up the middle and moved to second on the throw to try and get Fisher at third. Bernard tied the game with a two-run single through the right side. Justine Garner came in to run and Geenamarie Bonilla singled through the left side. After a fielder's choice Newell knocked in the go-ahead run with a single to center.
McCall James came in to pitch the top of the seventh and hit Stephanie Crist with her first pitch. Brown singled to center but Fisher slipped for an error that allowed Brown to move to second and the tying run to score.
Jenna Krummen singled up the middle with one down in the bottom of the seventh and moved to second on a wild pitch. Fisher followed with a bunt single that put the winning run 60 feet away. On the first pitch from new LMU pitcher Andy Wellins Fisher swiped second. Padilla came through with the walk off single.
Game 2
James (2-4) started for Santa Clara and picked up a no-decision in 4.1 innings. James allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits with six walks and one strikeout. Briana Rios (1-8) got the loss in 2.2 innings out of the bullpen. Fisher was 2-3 with a walk, a run, and an RBI to lead the offense. Bonilla was 3-4 while Newell was 1-3 with a double and a run scored.
Crist (4-8) started for LMU and picked up a no-decision in 4.2 innings. Crist allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits with five walks and a strikeout. Farrington (15-11) got the win in 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. Caitlin Harman was 2-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI to lead the offense. Finie was 1-3 with two RBI and a double while Courtney Moore was 1-3 with an RBI.
Fisher started the bottom of the first with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. A sac bunt put her on third and Bernard drew the second walk of the inning. After a groundout put runners on second and third, a wild pitch brought in the first Bronco run of the game without the benefit of a hit.
A ball that got lost in the sun went for a one out double for Meghan von Behren and Finie followed with an RBI double to left center that tied the game.
With runners on first and second and one down in the top of the fourth a routine grounder to second was booted. The runner on second came all the way around to score and the runner on first went to third. A walk and a sac fly extended the lead to 3-1. The inning ended when the Broncos got a runner trying to score from second on a single to right.
After two one out walks by James, Rios came in to pitch for the Broncos. She got two fly balls to escape the jam.
Pinch hitter Amanda Delfino led off the home half of the fifth with a walk. Fisher laid down a bunt single and an error let Delfino come around to score. Fisher was thrown out trying to make it to third for the first out of the inning. A walk and a single ended the day for Crist who was lifted for Farrington. A fielder's choice ended the inning with Santa Clara down 3-2.
Newell got the bottom of the sixth going with a double to right and Biagini followed with a single to right. After two outs were recorded without a run coming in but Biagini moving to second, Fisher tied the game with an infield single. Biagini was caught in a run down on the play to end the inning with the score tied.
The Lions loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with one out. Harman singled in the go ahead run with a chopper through the left side. Moore singled in another run but Biagini threw out another runner at the plate for the third out.
Bonilla reached on a single with two down in the bottom of the seventh but the next batter ended the game with a groundout to second.
