IRVINE, Calif. — The San Francisco State softball team split its games on Saturday in day two of the Concordia Kickoff Classic. The Gators won 5-3 over Northwest Nazarene but dropped their nightcap 4-0 to Colorado Christian.
- With the win, the Gators (3-1) are now 5-2 all-time versus the Nighthawks, who fell to 0-4 but notched their first win later in the day on the back of a Sidney Booth no-hitter versus Cal State San Bernardino. Saturday marked the first time that the Gators and the Cougars have met.
- SF State outhit NNU 7-3 but the team's only hit versus CCU came in the first at-bat of the game when DeLeon legged out an infield single.
- Through four games, the Gators are hitting just .173 but are also holding opponents to .175. SF State is already 8-of-11 when it comes to stolen bases.
vs. Northwest Nazarene
- In the top of the second, the Nighthawks plated a run without recording a hit. Maia McNicoll worked a full-count walk to start the inning, then Vincent sailed a throw to second on a fielder's choice, which allowed McNicoll to slide in safely at second. McNicoll stole third. Clarissa Moreno hit a grounder to DeLeon. The second baseman couldn't field it cleanly enough to go home and took the out at first as McNicoll scored from third.
- The Gators answered and more in the bottom of the second. Vincent made up for her error with a four-pitch leadoff walk. Jordan moved her over with a sacrifice bunt, then Guerrera worked a full-count walk. Phoebe Schultz ripped the first pitch she saw down the left field line and it bounced into foul territory, which allowed Vincent and Guerrera to both score. Marley Gonzales traded places with Schultz with a shot through the left side for an RBI double. DeLeon worked a full-count walk, then Gonzales and DeLeon executed a double steal. Catcher Abigail Gagnon's throw to third was wide and sailed past the bag, which allowed Gonzales to race home to make it 4-1.
- Maddux hit a rough spot in the fifth. The Gators ace walked back-to-back batters on eight straight pitches and McNicoll made her pay with a two-out, two-run double into the left field corner.
- The Gators got an insurance run back in the sixth on Gonzalez' perfectly-executed sacrifice bunt that scored pinch runner Maddie Scott. NNU got the tying-run to the plate in the seventh but failed to score.
- Kaitlyn Maddux (2-0) tossed another complete game and scattered just three hits. She struck out eight, though she also walked six.
- Tori Hensley (0-2) lasted just one and two thirds inning for the Nighthawks. She allowed four runs, three earned, on three hits.
- Gina Skinner came on in relief and allowed a run on four hits over the final four and a third innings.
vs. Colorado Christian
- The Cougars struck in the first. Kenzie Middleton and Sami Edwards both singled. Middleton, who moved all the way to third on Edwards' single, scored when center fielder Marley Gonzales tried to throw behind Edwards and had her throw skip away to the dugout fencing.
- In the fifth, Marley Gonzales reached second on a throwing error but the Gators stranded her at third. Then, CCU added insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Savannah Tourville singled up the middle, pinch runner Camryn Quilling stole second and scored on a Miki Berg double up the middle. Smith hit a sharp liner down the third baseline. The ball was bobbled in the outfield and two more runs scored.
- Brooklyn Heffernan (1-1) took the loss in a complete-game effort. She allowed four runs, two earned, in six innings of work. She struck out four and walked four. She worked out of a jam in the fourth. Garcia reached safely on a fielding error and moved up to second, and later stole third on a failed pickoff attempt. Berg drew a full-count walk, then stole second. Heffernan struck out Dietz looking, then Vincent fielded a bunt and flipped home for the second out. Heffernan then got Smith swinging to end the inning.
- Kali Crandall (1-1) had her best outing of the young season with 15 strikeouts, which included striking out the side to end the game.
The Concordia Kickoff Classic wraps up on Sunday, February 5 and the Gators take on Colorado Mesa at 9:30 a.m. The game will be streamed live, and live stats will be available at
sfstategators.com. Tickets are available at
cuigoldeneagles.com/tickets.
