MCKINLEYVILLE, Calif. -- Humboldt State softball dropped its third and fourth consecutive games as the Lumberjack pitching staff was unable to contain the bats of Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Toros won the series opener 17-7 before taking the nightcap 10-7.
"I can't ask any more from my offense. When you put 14 runs up in two games, what more can you ask for?" said HSU Head Coach
Shelli Sarchett. "We've got to find out what to do in the pitching circle. We know we have a problem there, and that is going to be our main concern for the rest of the year. We just have to keep pushing and growing."
The Green and Gold leaned on the long ball in game one as Rylie Carlier gave the squad a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first with her team-leading fourth home run of the year. Dominguez Hills answered with three runs in the following inning and another in the third to take a 5-3 lead.
Illa Haley and Haley Suter hit back-to-back homers in the third to even the score at 5-all, but the Toros continued to tee off on HSU pitching.
Damari Simon hit a one-out roundtripper in fourth and Dominguez Hills took a two-run advantage after a passed ball scored another run from third. When the Jacks needed her most, Carlier came up with a big hit as she plated a pair with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 7-7. The senior finished the game 2-for-4 at the dish with five RBI.
Dominguez Hills scored 10 runs in the final three innings, six off reliever Jasmine Hill, to capture the victory. Hill took the loss, her third of the season, as she surrendered the runs in 1.2 innings.
The visitors jumped out to a 7-2 lead after two innings in the second game and the Jacks were left to chase their lead the rest of the way. Despite the Toros four-run first, Tovar provided the Green and Gold with a lift in the bottom half of the frame scoring two runs on a ball she clubbed over the right field wall.
Behind 7-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Suter started an HSU rally with an RBI single to right centerfield. Danica Grier swatted an RBI double and Haley drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-5 in the fifth.
Three more runs in the sixth and seventh frames made the score 10-5 in favor of the visitors, and Haley's seventh inning two-run homer wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
Taylor Proctor lasted just 0.2 innings in the nightcap, and she suffered her first loss of the season. Lexee Sheiring relieved Proctor and yielded four runs, three earned, in an effective 4.2 innings of work.
Hanna Holland and Micaela Harris each contributed two hits to the Jacks' total. Holland also stole a base and is one shy of matching Jaime Peterson's program record of 145.
HSU continues the series Saturday at McKinleyville High School. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
