Softball comes up short in Stockton
Sophomore Kayla Meeks pitches in the 4-1 loss to Pacific on Saturday in game one of the Pacific Mini Tournament.:
March 31, 2007
The Sacramento State softball team had chances, but couldn’t make contact during key moments and fell to 0-2 on the first day of the Pacific Mini Tournament on Saturday in Stockton.
“We are playing well,” Sac State coach Kathy Strahan said. “We just need something special to get us over the top.
The Hornets (6-20) fell victim to the Pacific Tigers (19-11) in game one, losing 4-1 in extra innings.
“We had a ton of adrenaline today. We came out with a lot of fire – a lot of passion – and they carried it all the way through both games,” Pacific coach Brian Kolze said.
Strahan said Sac State had some chances in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but weren’t able to make those key hits they needed. The Hornets loaded the bases in the eighth inning, but were unable to bring a single run home.
“We are very flat on offense,” Strahan said.
Pacific was up 1-0 until junior Melissa Cross belted a solo shot over the fence to tie the game in the third inning.
The game remained tied until the ninth inning when the Tigers were able to come through with three runs.
Junior shortstop Amy Tompkins said having a game head into extra innings is a really intense time.
“We have to make sure to get the easy outs and stop the bunts,” she said.
Sac State again fell behind 1-0 early on in the afternoon game against UNLV.
The Rebels (24-14) added some insurance in the fifth and again in the sixth and the Hornets weren’t able to respond.
Strahan said sophomore Jamie Schloredt, who has been hitting above .500 before injuring her back on March 14, hasn’t played to the potential Strahan had hoped.
“She hasn’t had good at bats,” Strahan said. “I thought she would come out (with some key hits) for us.”
The losses put Sac State 6-20, while Pacific and UNLV improved to 19-11 and 24-14, respectively.
Cross was 3-for-3, with a homer and two doubles and Tomkins went 2-for-6 to lead the Hornets on the day.
Pacific leads both Sac State and UNLV with a 2-0 record as they beat the Rebels 7-3.Sac State returns to action at 10 a.m. against UNLV and 2 p.m. against Pacific on Sunday at Bill Simoni Field.
