TURLOCK, Calif. – No. 3 Humboldt State softball started a new winning streak with two victories in day one of Tournament of Champions play. The Lumberjacks rallied for a 3-2 win in game one versus Northwest Nazarene, and the Green and Gold batters found success in the team's 5-0 win over Concordia (Ore.).
HSU returns to Pedretti Sports Complex Saturday to face Central Washington and Western Oregon at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
GAME ONE(Humboldt State 3, Northwest Nazarene 2)Beautiful weather and bright sunshine sounds like perfect weather for softball, but the morning sun played havoc with Lumberjack outfielders against Northwest Nazarene.
Kylie Orr lifted a fly ball with one out in the first inning that fell just outside of the reach of
Winona Vigil for an RBI triple. Vigil was unable to fight the harsh sunlight in the early contest.
The Crusaders added another run in the third, but the Jacks refused to lose back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Hanna Holland opened the bottom of the third with a bunt single and swiped second base. She stole third and came home after an errant throw by the Crusaders catcher went wide of the bag and into left field.
It didn't take long for Holland's bat to make a difference for HSU. She crushed an RBI double to left in the fourth to bring home Cindy Chavez and knot the game at 2-2. Holland finished the game with a pair of hits and two stolen bases.
With just four hits in 28 at-bats coming into the game, freshman
Illa Haley seemed like an unlikely hero for the Jacks. Haley entered the game late and pounded a two-out double that hopped the outfield netting and scored HSU's go-ahead run in the fifth.
Kalyn Paque shined in just her second start of 2016. The junior from Reno, Nev., scattered nine hits, allowed two runs and fanned five in her 5.0-inning performance.
"It was nice to see KP on the mound today," said Head Coach
Shelli Sarchett. "She gave up some runs early, but settled down and kept us in the ball game long enough to come back."
Madison Williams logged 2.0 innings of scoreless relief and picked up her first save of the season. She struck out two of the six batters.
GAME TWO(Humboldt State 5, Concordia (Ore.) 0)Williams stepped back into the circle as the game-two starter, and she demonstrated that yesterday's rough outing versus UC San Diego was just an off day. The junior tossed a complete game shutout and struck out five Cavaliers. She improved her record to 13-1 with the win.
"I was really proud of Maddie and the way she was able to finish off game one and throw game two with tons of confidence," said Sarchett. "She was able to put a rough performance behind her and go out there today and do her job."
HSU notched 12 hits against Concordia, its highest total since tallying 13 in a 7-5 win over Cal State San Bernardino on March 19. Four Jacks finished with multi-hit outings, including Holland who extended her hitting streak to a team-best 22 straight games. She also reached base in both games, which moved her reached base streak to 34 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Haley provided a pair of run-scoring hits for the Green and Gold in game two. She slapped an RBI single through the right side in the fourth and drilled her first home run of the season, a solo effort, in the sixth inning.
"Haley came up big for us in both games," said Sarchett. "We knew she was capable of being a good bat for our lineup, and we have been waiting for her to make a statement."
Tiffany Hollingsworth and
Julie Pena each contributed a pair of hits and an RBI single in the win.
