SAN FRANCISCO — It was an exciting day at the yard as the San Francisco State softball team notched a doubleheader sweep over visiting Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday for the series sweep of the Lumberjacks. The Gators won a 12-inning thriller, 8-7, and finished off the series with a 7-1 victory.
- In between games, the Gators honored their five seniors – Lehua DeLeon, Brylynn Vallejos, Sydney Jenkins, Halle Nugent, and Samantha Renteria. The seniors went a combined .382 at the plate (13-for-34) and accounted for nine runs and eight RBI.
- The Gators racked up 18 hits in game one, which is tied for the most hits in a single game this season. It is also the most by a Gators team in program history. The achievement has been reached four times, twice this season.
- Brylynn Vallejos' first-inning hit in game two moved her into a tie for fourth place on the program's all-time career list with Karolyn Gubbine (2007-10). Only three Gators have amassed 200 career hits and Vallejos could be the first to do it in less than four seasons.
- The Gators turned three more double plays on the day, bringing their season total to 30, which leads all of NCAA Division II.
- Both Gators pitchers went the distance. Taylor Kelly really went the distance with a 170-pitch performance. Madeline Eshbach picked up the win in game two and finished the series with a win and two saves, and a minuscule 1.14 ERA.
GAME ONE
- The Lumberjacks posted their first lead of the series in the first inning. Mikaela Harris singled sharply up the middle, stole second, and scored on Hollee Travao's double off the base of the left field fence.
- The Gators answered in the bottom half the inning in a similar fashion. Vallejos singled, stole second, and scored on a Jenkins single to shallow center. SF State then took the lead on Kira Nilson's double that sailed over right fielder Katelyn Dendas' head, which allowed Jenkins to score from second.
- Kelly couldn't hand a two-out comebacker and threw the ball away, which allowed Hollee Travao to end up on second. JoAna Mullins drove her home to pull the Lumberjacks to within a run but was caught stealing to end the fifth.
- With Anna Brondos at third base, the Lumberjacks tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch and forced extra innings.
- Humboldt took the lead in the ninth when Travao collided with Nugent on a bunt down the first base line. Nugent was unable to hold onto the ball and two runs ended up coming in on the play before the Gators got out of the inning with a double play.
- The Gators were down to their final strike in the ninth when Jenkins launched a two-run shot to left that tied the game 5-5.
- The Lumberjacks wore down Kelly in the 12th. She threw a wild pitch that moved a pair of runners into scoring position, then Humboldt took the lead on Megan Escobar's two-out single to right field that put the Lumberjacks in control, 7-5.
- Jenkins started off the bottom of the 12th with a single to shallow right center and moved up on Nilson's one-out single. Marley Gonzales kept the Gators' hopes alive with a two-out single that loaded the bases, then Halle Nugent came through with a two-run single up the middle.
- The Gators won it when Kai DeLeon reached on a throwing error as Gonzales came home from third.
- Kelly (6-6) evened her record with a gritty outing. Though she did have one error, Kelly defended her position well with a putout and five assists. She struck out three and walked four, scattering a dozen hits in as many innings.
- Karen Di Dio (7-16) struck out five in a lossing effort for the Lumberjacks.
GAME TWO
- The Gators took the lead in the first inning when Vallejos scored from third on a wild pitch.
- SF State extended the lead to 2-0 in the third. With runners on first and third, Jenkins baited the defense into a throw as she attempted to steal second. She stayed alive in a rundown long enough for Vallejos to break from third and score.
- The Lumberjacks got on the board in the fourth on Alyssa Ramirez's two-out RBI single.
- Renteria added an insurance run in the fifth with a double to the right center that scored Nugent, who singled and ended up at third after a throwing error.
- The Gators broke things open with a four-run sixth inning. Teya Vincent was hit by a pitch for her team-leading 10th time to begin the inning. Vincent eventually moved to third base and executed a first-and-third double steal with Marley Gonzales that grew the lead to 4-1.
- Renteria drove in her second run of the day with a single to left field that made it 5-1and a two-run double from Kai DeLeon brought home Renteria and Nugent for a six-run lead.
- Eshbach (3-4) tossed her fourth complete game of the season. She allowed one run on five hits, and struck out one.
- The Lumberjacks used four pitchers in the outing. Starter Emily MacAdams (0-5) was charged with the loss.
The Gators wrap up the regular season at Cal State San Bernardino with a four-game series, April 29-30. The series will be broadcast on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com.
