UOP’s Cindy Ball terrorizes USU
On the mound and at the plate, the Utah State University softball team was unable to stop University of the Pacific pitcher Cindy Ball.
In a doubleheader Friday and a single game Saturday at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field, Ball allowed only two runs in 15 and two-thirds innings pitched while also going 6 of 12 at the plate.
No. 18 Pacific swept the series from the Aggies.
In Friday’s first game, Pacific took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a single by shortstop Michelle Anunciation. Center fielder Estee Okumura, who reached base on a walk, scored on the play.
Pacific scored two more runs in the third to lead 3-0, but the Aggies answered in the bottom of the fourth.
Second baseman Marcie Neff led off with a single and advanced to second on a bunt by third baseman Stephanie Vasarhely. Neff scored on a double by shortstop Heather Curtis who then scored on a single by catcher Breanne Smith.
The Aggies had runners on first and second with only one out after center fielder Casey Smith was hit by a pitch.
With a runner in scoring position, the Aggies were unable to score again as Breanne Smith was caught in a rundown at second base and Pacific escaped the inning with a 3-2 lead.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Ball added an insurance run when she hit freshman Lindsay Janssen’s pitch over the right field fence. The homerun was Ball’s ninth of the season.
“It was on a 1-2 count and you can’t give anything remotely close on a hitter like that,” Aggie coach Debbie Bilbao said. “It’s about [Janssen] making pitches and learning what she can and can’t do. That’s part of her development as a young pitcher.”
In the bottom of the inning, Ball set the Aggies down in order and picked up the 4-2 win.
“We’ve hit a lot of phenomenal pitchers, but it’s about what we do on our side that’s more important,” Bilbao said. “We had six hits. Six hits usually wins ball games. I would kill some games for six hits, but then we give up 12.”
The second game began as a pitcher’s duel as Aggie pitcher Kristin Hommel allowed only one hit in three innings and Tiger pitcher Jennifer Dacre allowed three hits through four innings.
Pacific managed to put the first run on the board in the top of the fourth and scored again in the fifth on an RBI double by Ball to go up 2-0.
The Aggies responded in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk. Catcher Amanda Carlson knocked in Utah State’s only run of the game with her second hit of the game, a single to right.
Ball entered the game in relief for Dacre and immediately struck out Neff on three pitches. Pacific got out of the jam when Vasarhely grounded to third.
Pacific scored once more in the sixth and leading 3-1, broke the game open in the seventh.
Behind four singles and an Aggie error, the Tigers scored four runs to open the inning. With runners on the corners, no outs and Pacific up 7-1, the umpires decided to suspend the game due to darkness.
“It’s a safety issue,” Bilbao said.
The game resumed Saturday at 11 a.m., and Pacific didn’t miss a beat, continuing where it left off.
By the time the inning had ended, Pacific had sent 15 players to the plate and scored 11 runs on eight hits and one error. Both Ashlie D’Errico and Aloha Yamaguchi had two hits and three RBIs in the inning.
Hommel took the loss and Dacre was given the win in Pacific’s 14-1 victory.
Following the conclusion of the second game, the teams retook the field for the final game of the series.
Once again it was Ball and a big seventh inning sealing the game for Pacific.
Going against Aggie sophomore pitcher Lindsay Janssen, Pacific was held to only one run and five hits through six innings.
The Tigers picked up the single run in the fourth on a double by D’Errico and an RBI single by Yamaguchi.
The Aggies nearly tied the game in the fourth, but were held by the Pacific defense.
Curtis led off with a single for the Aggies and moved to second when Breanne reached on an error by Anunciation.
Aggie first baseman Kelly Leos attempted to advance the runners on a bunt, but Ball was able to throw Curtis out at third.
With runners on first and second and one out, Casey hit a drive to center field. The ball went over Okumura’s head, but Breanne waited at second to tag on the play.
When the ball dropped, Breanne tried to score from second but was thrown out at the plate.
“That shows Pacific’s skills; they’re that good,” Casey said. “To get a good hit like that, we had runners on, we did everything we should have done.”
Bilbao said, “[Breanne] needs to go back and tag and she didn’t tag soon enough. I was going to send her all the way.”
Utah State was able to stifle the Tigers with defense in the next two innings. In the fifth, Curtis made a diving grab on ball at short throwing the runner out from her knees.
The next batter hit a scorcher down the third base line, but Vasarhely made the stop, throwing the runner out at first.
“[The defense] did spectacular,” Janssen said. “I was so impressed with everybody’s effort and the plays they made. I couldn’t have felt more confident in the defense.”
Leading by only one run going into the seventh, Ball was able to help herself out.
A double, a walk and an infield hit loaded the bases for Ball.
With a 2-1 count, Janssen threw an off-speed drop pitch to Ball who knocked a towering shot over the right field fence for a grand slam and her 10th dinger of the year.
“At first when I made contact I just thought it was a pop fly,” Ball said. “I saw it bounce and I didn’t know it hit the second fence. I didn’t know it was going to go over.”
Janssen finished the inning without allowing another run, but Pacific was up 5-1 and the score wouldn’t change.
“We usually give one inning away and that’s what’s been happening,” Bilbao said. “It’s about controlling innings. Lindsay [Janssen] did a great job through six.”
Ball, now 17-8, finished the series with 16 strikeouts, moving her into fourth on the Big West all-time strikeout list with 648.
With the losses, Utah State fell to 3-32 overall and 0-9 in Big West Conference play while Pacific improved to 10-1 in conference and 28-12 overall.
For the remainder of the season the Aggies will have only two pitchers and two fewer fielders. Before the Pacific series, pitcher Xochitl Ramirez, outfielder Markean Neal and utility player Danielle Rodriguez were dropped from the team, Bilbao said.
Bilbao said the coaching staff has been considering dropping the players for some time and made the decision due to player inconsistencies in attitude, effort and approach, not in performance.
“I made this choice for the team and the future,” she said. “I’ve got to turn this program around.”
The released players will remain on athletic aid through the summer, Bilbao said.
“It’s important that athletes graduate,” she said. “They’re here for their degree.”
USU will return to action Tuesday when it plays a doubleheader against Southern Utah University. Play will begin at 2 p.m. at Johnson Field.
The Aggies have faced SUU three times previously this season, losing in all three meetings.
“We need to play well against them,” Bilbao said. “We just did not play well against them and we need to do that. When we get people in scoring position, we need to convert.”