USU softball team swept on the road vs. No. 18 Pacific
Lead by last week’s Big West Conference pitcher of the week, Cindy Ball, the No. 18 University of the Pacific Tigers, swept a three-game series from the USU women’s softball team this weekend in Stockton, Calif. UOP improved to 36-5 on the season, while the Aggies fell to 5-27.
Pacific 7, USU 0 Game one Saturday afternoon belonged to Tiger pitcher Cindy Ball. Aided by three Aggie fielding errors and a three-RBI performance by catcher Kelly Lowery, Ball went the distance for the Tigers, giving up only two hits in the process in the Tigers’ 7-0 shutout victory. Pacific scored two runs in the second, third and fifth innings to keep the Aggies at bay. Leading the way for the Tigers at the plate was Lowery and freshman rightfielder Boni Kading. Kading went 3-for-4 and scored two runs in the game. USU never found its rhythm at the plate as Ball held the Aggies to two infield singles by Marnie Andrews and Danielle Rodriguez. Pacific 3, USU 1 Held to just five hits in its two previous games, USU out-hit the Tigers seven to two in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, but couldn’t capitalize, and the Tigers won 3-1. It was a rough outing for junior pitcher Kristin Hommel, who walked six of the nine batters she faced, giving UOP a 2-0 lead midway through the second inning. Hommel was placed by Xochitl Ramirez with one out in the second. The Aggies would battle back in the third inning. Following a 25-minute rain delay, Casey Smith hit a double off of Jennifer Dacre to begin the inning. Smith would later score two batters on a Shannon Acevedo double. USU loaded the bases in the fourth inning but was denied when Pacific third baseman Angele Alves snagged a Smith liner to end the threat. After replacing Hommel in the second inning, Ramirez silenced the Tiger batters, allowing only one run on two hits in almost five innings. Smith and Acevedo paced the Aggies at the plate, both going 2-for-4.
Pacific 4, USU 1 In a game shortened because of inclement weather, UOP completed a three-game sweep of the Aggies, out-scoring USU 4-1 on Sunday. Sunday’s game was called in the sixth inning because of rain. The game had already been delayed an hour in the fourth inning because of rain. UOP jumped on the Aggies early, scoring two runs in the first inning on a single by center fielder Este Ke’ala Okumura. Down 3-0 in the top of the fifth, the Aggies loaded the bases on a lead-off walk by Heather Curtis and singles by Marnie Andrews and Danielle Rodriguez. After Shannon Acevedo drove in Curtis with a single, Tiger ace Cindy Ball shut down the Aggies the rest of the game. With the victory, Ball improved her season record to 22-4. Offensively, UOP was lead by designated player Erica Reynolds, who finished the game 2-for-2 with an RBI.