Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ARCATA – Speed kills but power thrills.
 
Humboldt State's power hitters got the better of Sonoma State's short game with the Jacks winning twice (4-3, 6-2) in a matchup of the top two softball teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association on Friday.
 
Sonoma ace Samanth Lipperd, a senior, had given up six home runs all season. In the doubleheader Lipperd (18-6) gave up four to the Jacks – including two to sophomore Dani Randall.
 
Sonoma State's small ball was effective as the Seawolves had leads in both games against HSU (35-11 overall, 22-4 in league and ranked 7th in the nation). The Seawolves (31-11, 18-8 in CCAA and ranked 17th in the nation) outhit the Jacks (8 to 4) in the opener as Katie Obbema (16-3) got the win.
 
Humboldt's answer in both games was Randall who hit her sixth and seventh homers of the season.
 
“It feels great,” Randall said. “Sonoma is a hard team, and we both wanted to win.”
 
Randall hit one out in the third inning to tie the first game at 2, and her second homer was a 2-run shot in the fourth of the second game that also tied that game at 2. Randall's first homer was almost a long out, but Sonoma leftfielder Vanessa Currie could not hang on to it, dropping it over the fence.
 
“We knew it was going to be good ball games,” said HSU head coach Frank Cheek. “They outhit us, but we out-homered them. They have a good pitcher. They're leading the league in hitting. We're leading the league in home runs.”
 
In each game a teammate also homered in the same inning as Randall (freshman Julie Pena in the first game, her 8th, and sophomore Hannah Williams, her 11th, in the second) to put the Jacks ahead.
 
Pena's homer was a two-run shot to put the Jacks up in game one.
 
“I was thinking last week they didn't throw me an outside pitch,” Pena said. “And this time they didn't throw me an outside pitch. So when they threw me an inside pitch, I just hit it.”
 
Junior Tonya Walker hit a bases-loaded two-run single in the sixth inning of game two to give winner Lizzie Perez (15-4) some insurance runs.
 
“The two-game sweep is really big for us,” Walker said. “We needed that to stay two games ahead. If we don't do as well on Saturday, it's not going to effect us. And if we win more on Saturday, then it's going to put us even more ahead.”

“We have been preparing all year for these people,” Cheek said. “We knew from the first day of practice that we had to face Sonoma State.”
 
The two teams finish the four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game begins at 11 a.m.