SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Cal Poly Humboldt continued their week in the bay area with a four game CCAA series against the San Francisco State Gators. One run was the difference in both games on Friday, but the Lumberjacks were on the wrong side of the scoreboard in each of the two games. A hard fought game one went into extra innings and saw the Gators win 5-4, while game two came down to the wire with a final score of 2-1. Humboldt drops to 12-10 overall and 5-5 in CCAA play.

Game One (SFSU 5, HUM 4 — 8 Innings)
A wild game one was a tale of two halves. What looked to be a game controlled by the Lumberjacks early on slowly shifted to a game that the Gators took over in the later innings.

Hailee Moore started the game with an infield single to the shortstop and advanced to second when Alyssa Smokey singled through the left side. Izzy Starr singled to center field and drove in Moore to put the 'Jacks up 1-0.

In the top of the third, Starr continued her hot streak at the plate and drilled a ball over the left field fence to put Humboldt up 2-0. The hitting became contagious as Shelby Shanks and Vanessa Saltos both singled. For the second time in the game, McKenna Beach was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Hailey Meisenbach. Meisenbach was the fifth straight batter to reach base after singling to center field, driving in both Shanks and Saltos. The 'Jacks led 4-0 through three innings.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Gators scratched two runs across the plate with two outs to cut the Lumberjack lead in half, 4-2. San Francisco managed to tie the game after scoring a run in both the fifth and six inning, which resulted in sending the game to extra innings. Humboldt had the opportunity to score in the seventh innings as they had a runner in scoring position with less than two outs, but was unsuccessful in finding a timely hit.

The Gators walked it off in the bottom of the eighth inning after a single, sacrifice bunt, and double to left field lifted SF State over Humboldt with a final score of 5-4.

Quick Hitters

• Izzy Starr led offensively, going 2-for-4 (HR) with 2 RBI and a run scored

• Alyssa Smokey had two hits

• Hailee Moore, Shelby Shanks, and Vanessa Saltos all had one hit and scored a run

• Hailey Meisenbach singled and recorded two RBI's

• Gaige Garcia pitched four innings, Smokey pitched 3.1 innings and fell to 6-2 on the season

• Mari Takeda Bajan of SF State threw a complete game and improved to 4-2

Game Two (SFSU 2, HUM 1)
Game two was a pitching dual between Vanessa Richie and Elise Roy. Each team could count the number of hits they had on a single hand, as SF State had five and Humboldt had four.

The Gators struck first when the lead-off batter homered to right center field to put SF State up 1-0. A Lumberjack error in the third inning followed by a double from the Gators led to another run for SF, as they claimed an early 2-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Vanessa Saltos torched a ball over the left field fence on a 2-1 count to cut the deficit in half. However, the 'Jacks struggled to rally a run across in the late innings and fell with a final score of 2-1. 
 

Quick Hitters

• Vanessa Saltos hit her first home run of the season

• McKenna Beach, Meisenbach, and Shanks all singled

• Vanessa Richie pitched six innings and allowed just one run

• Richie (2-2) recorded the loss and Elise Roy (4-5) of SF State got the win

Up Next

On Saturday, the 'Jacks return to the diamond and will look to even the series at San Francisco State. Game times are set for 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM.