SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara softball downed Pacific, 5-4, in thrilling fashion in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader before falling to the Tigers, 5-3, in the nightcap.
Game One: Santa Clara 5, Pacific 4
Emily Eudy pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning and Aubree Kim picked up the victory in relief in a 5-4 victory over Pacific.
Hannah Russell went 2-for-3, scoring one run and driving in another, and Kelsie Barnard had a pair of RBIs for the Broncos (11-31, 3-5 West Coast Conference).
Myla Sutherlin (4-7) suffered the loss in relief for the Tigers (16-29, 2-9). She went 1 1/3 innings, yielding two hits and one run.
Eudy's single up the middle with one out in the seventh plated Jordan Dawkins. She ran for Sammie Needham who was hit by a pitch leading off the frame and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Russell.
Kim (1-7) pitched four innings, surrendering just two hits and one run.
The Broncos erased a 3-0 deficit on Barnard's two-run double in the fourth and Russell's RBI single in the fifth.
A run-scoring single from Pacific pitcher Hailey Reed in the sixth tied the game at 4-all. She started the game and allowed seven hits and two earned runs in five innings.
Game Two: Pacific 5, Santa Clara 3
Caity Sung in drove three runs, including two in the seventh inning, to lead Pacific to a 5-3 win over Santa Clara.
Myla Sutherlin (5-7) pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
The Broncos erased a 3-0 lead for the second-straight game, but this time was not able to forge ahead.
Hannah Russell's two-RBI single in the fifth inning knotted the game at 3-all.
The Broncos loaded the bases against Kim in the bottom of the sixth, but she induced a groundout from Regan Dias to end the threat.
In the seventh, Madison Hopper opened with a single and after Madison Kahwaty reached on an error, Sung singled up the middle to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead.
Santa Clara was looking at another potential walk-off, but was not able to come up the key base hit.
Eudy singled and Kelsie Barnard and Taylor Burns were issued two-out walks by Sutherlin, but the freshman right-hander was able to strike out Morgan Modesto to end the rally with the bases loaded.
Lauren Anderson (2-12) took the loss for Santa despite pitching five innings in relief. She surrendered eight hits and two earned runs while walking four and striking out two.
NEXT UP
The Broncos and Tigers close out their three-game series on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon.
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