SAN FRANCISCO – Lea Cardenas belted a three-run homer with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, lifting San Francisco State to a thrilling 9-8 victory over Cal State East Bay in the first game of a California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader Sunday at SFSU Softball Field. The Gators subsequently took a 6-2 lead in the fourth inning of the nightcap when play was suspended due to rain.
Despite yielding three runs on three hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings, SF State's
Jordan Stanaland (3-1) was credited with the win after Cardenas' blast cleared the fence at the expense of Pioneer reliever Talia Ferrari (4-4), who faced just two batters in the deciding frame.
Ashley Jackson started in the circle for the Purple and Gold, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings before giving way to Stanaland.
East Bay (11-14, 8-13 CCAA) grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the top of the first on Taylor Neumann's RBI single and a two-run homer by Sara Holdridge.
However, SF State (7-19, 5-16 CCAA) rallied with five runs of its own in the bottom of the frame as Pioneer starter Kelly Lowe experienced an early exit after walking the first four hitters. Esquibel and
Kelly McDonald wreaked further damage after each singled in a pair of runs, sandwiched around a flyout, a strikeout and a walk to
Rachael Kroneder.
The Gators stretched the margin to 6-3 in the second when Esquibel's groundout plated Robertson, who led off with a single and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and
Kendra Wood's base hit.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the fifth when Neumann smacked a two-run homer over the left field fence, driving in Jamie Yaller, who earlier reached on an infield single. Trailing 6-5, East Bay drew even in the sixth as Yaller knocked in Kassy Winger with an RBI single up the middle.
With momentum on their side, the Pioneers pushed across two runs in the seventh as pinch runner Devon Mercurio touched home on Dani Foster's groundout to short, while Devin Salmones scored on a wild pitch.
Lauren Zweigle, who entered for Lowe in the first, pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks. However, the East Bay hurler was lifted in bottom of seventh after
Kendra Wood was hit by a pitch.
With new-found hope, the Gators wasted little time in cashing in on their opportunity as Esquibel followed with a single through the left side, while Cardenas crushed the first pitch she saw over the left field fence, much to the delight of the SF State faithful.
In the nightcap, the Gators erupted for five runs in the bottom of the third after sending 11 batters to the plate.
Kelsey Wood provided the big bat in the inning with a bases-clearing double down the left field line. McDonald led off with a base hit, while
Kylie Herrada followed with a bunt single. East Bay tried to nab the lead runner on
Kelsey Murakami's sacrifice bunt attempt; however, McDonald beat the throw at third, setting the stage for Wood's clutch hit. Moments later, Esquibel brought in Wood with a single up the middle and later scored when Kroneder reached on a fielder's choice.
The two teams will resume game two on Wednesday, March 30, beginning at 1 p.m., followed by a regularly-scheduled doubleheader at SF State Softball Field.
The Gators and Pioneers designated Sunday's twin bill as StrikeOut Breast Cancer games to honor those individuals and their families who have batted this disease. SF State wore pink uniform tops, while East Bay donned white shirts with pink numerals.
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