March 8, 2003
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - The Santa Clara University softball team defeated the University of Missouri-Kansas City in second-day action at the National Invitation Softball Tournament, hosted by San Jose State University at the Twin Creeks Sports Complex in Sunnyvale. Santa Clara fell to Oregon 3-0 in its second game of the day and is now 12-11 on the season.
Santa Clara will close out the tournament on Sunday, getting a second chance at Arizona State at 10 a.m. The Broncos lost to the ninth-ranked Sun Devils 2-1 on Friday.
The Broncos scored all four runs against UMKC in the first inning. Jenny Brown and Vanessa Werner reached base with consecutive singles, while Jessica Clee loaded the bases when she reached on an error. Lacey Smale doubled to bring in two runs, while Rachel Sherman followed with another hit to bring in two more.
Freshman Liz Courter earned the win for the Broncos, pitching five innings. Jaime Forman-Lau earned the save, striking out five in the final two frames.
"We started strong, but we didn't maintain that strength all the way through," SCU head coach Marcy Crouch said. "I'd like to see us improve on that the rest of the weekend."
Against Oregon, Rachel Sherman led the Broncos with two hits. Forman-Lau took the loss in the circle.
