TURLOCK, Calif. – A seven-run inning by the San Francisco State softball team helped the Gators wrap up day two of the Tournament of Champions with a victory over Western Washington by a score of 8-4. SF State would split Saturday's contests after falling to Saint Martin's in the opener, 7-4.
The Saints (10-12) took a 2-0 lead in the first on Kylie Lopez's bases-loaded double to left that plated a pair. The Gators (14-18) answered to tie things up in the bottom half, with
Michelle Castro starting the rally with a single to center and then stealing second. She moved to third on
Andrea Hildan's infield single, and the pair scored as
Katie Rohrer reached on an error.
Saint Martin's regained the two-run lead in the top of the second on three hits to go up 4-2.
Karla Soto retired the visitors in the top of the third, and with two down in the bottom of the fourth the Gators made it a one-run game.
Madison Collins singled to right and advanced to second on
Kylee Brown's base hit through the left side.
Angelica Terrel then ripped a single to left that scored Collins and make it 4-3.
The Saints once again bounced back to get another two runs the next frame on Sabrina Hicks' two-run double to left and added another in the sixth to carry a 7-3 lead into the bottom half. SF State got one back in the bottom of the sixth on Brown's RBI single to left that scored
Mallory Cleveland, cutting it to 7-4.
The Gators would put two runners on with just one out in the seventh, but a double play ended the contest to result in the 7-4 setback.
Against Western Washington (9-18) in game two, and Castro led off the frame with a single and stole second and third. With Rohrer at the plate she scored on a passed ball to give SF State a 1-0 lead. The Gators put up seven runs in the second to go up 8-0 on the Vikings. Higa led off the inning with a walk and reached second as Cleveland reached on an error. After both runners stole the next base, Collins plated the pair on singles to the left side. The rally continued as Brown, Collins,
Marielena Torres, Castro, and Rohrer all came around to cap off the crooked inning.
The Vikings got on the board in the fourth with three runs capped off by a two-run single by Lauren Lo to make it 8-3. They added another in the fourth to cut the deficit to four.
Kelsey Goodner and Soto tossed the remaining three innings to shut the door on the Vikings for the 8-4 win.
Hildan, Brown, and
Hayley Nunes all recorded multi-hit games on Saturday.
Lindsey Cassidy made the start in game two, going four innings with four strikeouts while Goodner recorded three strikeouts in two innings.
SF State stole seven bases against the Vikings, giving them 78 on the season which are the third-most in program history. Castro now sits third all-time in program history for stolen bases in a season with 26. Monica Rubina set the Gator record in 1997 with 33.
Up Next
The Gators wrap up Tournament of Champion action tomorrow as they take on Western Oregon at 10 a.m. before wrapping up action against Concordia (Ore.) at 12:30 p.m. Live stats will be provided, and be sure to follow @sfstate_sb on Twitter for in-game updates.
