SAN FRANCISCO – Hosting its first-ever NCAA Division II West Regional, the No. 22 San Francisco State softball team came away with a 5-3 victory in the tournament's opening round.
- SF State, which is ranked No. 22 in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and holds the No. 2 seed in the tournament, moves to 38-18. Saint Martin's falls to 32-15 and into the loser's bracket. They take on Biola (38-20) in game four, scheduled for Friday at 1:30 p.m.
- Rylee McDaniel kept up the torrid hitting with her 11th home run of the season, which ties her with Natalie Batista, who set a program record with 11 home runs in 2002.
- Earlier in the day, Kai DeLeon, and Marley Gonzales were named to the NFCA All West Region Softball Team. DeLeon earned First Team honors at shortstop while Gonzales was named Second Team at catcher.
- Ashley Rocha had a steal, bringing the team total to 94 for the season.
- The Gators turned two more double plays, including an amazing play started by DeLeon in the top of the third. She ranged onto the edge of the grass in left center and made the catch on the run, then threw a laser across the diamond to first for the double play. They now have 35 on the season.
- Gators starter Mari Takeda Bajan issued back-to-back walks and a Shelby Lawson single down the third base line made it 1-0 with no outs. However, Takeda Bajan got out of the jam with three consecutive outs.
- DeLeon got the Gators going with a single, then manufactured a run. Daniella Guerrera singled, then Cardwell reached on a fielding error that allowed DeLeon to score. Pitcher Bridget Johnson fielded a Marissa Jordan comebacker but her throw home for the force play sailed to the backstop, which allowed Daniella Guerrera to score easily for the 2-1 Gators lead.
- SF State added another run in the second. Rocha was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a Gonzales double down the left field machine.
- McDaniel crushed the first pitch she saw in the inning, a towering home run that reached the gravel road beyond the fence and bounced over the white fence. The Gators added a fifth run thanks to pinch runner Emily Madrigal's scoring on a wild pitch.
- In the sixth, the Saints brought a run home and had the bases loaded with no outs. They got a two-out single through the left side from Elissa Dewees to make it 5-3 but Takeda Bajan escaped further damage.
- DeLeon initiated another double play and the Saints hit into an inning-ending doube play.
- Takeda Bajan (19-6) went the distance on 99 pitches. She allowed just one earned run with four walks and five strikeouts.
- Johnson (6-4) took the loss for Saint Martin's. She gave up four runs, two earned.
- Amanda Peterson pitched in relief and did not allow an earned run over four innings.
The No. 22 Gators will face RV Cal State San Marcos for the seventh time this season in game three of the West Regional, on Friday, May 9 at 11 a.m. The third-seeded Cougars (39-20) topped Biola 3-2 thanks to a seventh-inning fielding error. The game will be broadcast live on
FloCollege. Stats will be available at
sfstategators.com and tickets are on sale at
sfstategators.com/tickets.
