TURLOCK, Calif. -- Cal Poly Humboldt Softball kicked off their busy weekend with a pair of games against Western Oregon and Simon Fraser on day one of the 21st Annual Tournament of Champions. The Lumberjacks broke even after falling in game one to Western Oregon with a final score of 10-0 (five innings) and then bouncing back in game two with a 7-5 victory over Simon Fraser.
Alyssa Smokey and
McKenna Beach led the day offensively for Humboldt, as both collected three hits. In game two,
Vanessa Richie earned her third win of the season and
Gaige Garcia notched her first save of the year.
GAME ONE (WOU 10, HUM 0)
Over just five innings of play, the Western Oregon Wolves controlled the momentum early on and didn't look back as they extended their lead over time to take the first game of the tournament by run rule over the 'Jacks with a final score of 10-0. In the first inning, the Wolves capitalized on walks and timely hitting to jump out to a commanding 6-0 lead. One of the two Humboldt hits came in the bottom half of the first when
Alyssa Smokey singled through the left side, but the 'Jacks couldn't scratch a run. In the top of the second, WOU added to their lead after collecting another three hits to make it 8-0 over Humboldt. The fourth inning saw two more Wolves score on four hits to make it a double-digit lead. In the final at-bats,
McKenna Beach led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to right field in hopes to extend the game. The Lumberjack bats sizzled the ball in the final inning, however the team couldn't manage to plate any runs.
Quick Hitters
GAME TWO (HUM 7, SFU 5)
Humboldt turned it around in game two and came to life early on, as they scored three runs on three hits in the home half of the first inning.
Alyssa Smokey singled through the right side after seeing eight pitches and drove in
Hailee Moore to put the 'Jacks up 1-0.
Izzy Starr torched a double to right center and knocked in
Alyssa Ramirez, making it 2-0. With bases loaded,
McKenna Beach saw six pitches and drew a walk to collect an RBI and put Humboldt up 3-0.
In the bottom of the second inning,
Katlyn Gifford hit her second triple of the year to right field and drove in Smokey. Simon Fraser scratched a run across the plate in the top of third to cut the deficit to three runs (4-1). The 'Jacks responded in the home half of the third inning with two runs after an
Alyssa Ramirez single up middle drove in two more to make it 6-1. Over the fifth and sixth innings, things got interesting as SFU started to rally and cut the Lumberjack lead to just two runs, 7-5. With two Red Leafs on base in the top of the seventh inning, SFU had the go-ahead run at the plate in their final at-bats, but
Gaige Garcia recorded two strikeouts and a groundout to close the door and help Humboldt hold on for a 7-5 win.
Quick Hitters
- The Humboldt offense exploded for seven runs on 10 hits
- Alyssa Smokey and Alyssa Ramirez both had two hits and two RBI's
- Smokey and McKenna Beach led the team with two runs a piece
- Beach reached safely all four plate appearances after a single, two walks, and CCAA leading ninth hit-by-pitch
- Katlyn Gifford and Shelby Shanks both tripled
- Izzy Starr doubled
- Vanessa Richie (3-3) got the win after her 5.1 innings pitched, two earned runs, and five strikeout performance
- Gaige Garcia notched her first save of the year
UP NEXT
Cal Poly Humboldt will play a pair of games on Saturday at the Tournament of Champions against Azusa Pacific University at 9:00 AM and No. 14 Western Washington University at 2:00 PM.
