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Box Score 2 IRVINE, Calif. -- The Pacific West Conference series between Vanguard and Concordia Irvine softball opened on Wednesday afternoon but the Lions could not beat the league leaders. CUI took game one 3-1 and snatched game two late in the ball game with five unanswered runs to win 8-6. The Lions dropped to 7-20 overall and 3-10 in the PacWest, while CUI improved to 23-4 overall and 13-1 in the conference.
What Happened? Kamryn Walker hit a leadoff single to start the game, but the lone hit would soon be outdone by the CUI offense in the bottom of the second. A double, a walk, and another double propelled the home side to a 2-0 edge, though
Brianna Williams got back-to-back strikeouts to help retire the side. Despite that, a home run for Kayla Rodgers in the bottom of the third made the gap 3-0.
The Lions countered with a moonshot themselves, as
Amarah Farley blasted a solo shot to lead off the top of the fourth for her first home run of the campaign. Yet the long ball hurt the Vanguard line again as a single and another Rodgers home run increased the CUI lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
Mia Iacomini replaced Williams and got the final out of the inning while stranding a runner on second, but the VU offense could not catch up, as the team fell 5-1.
The Golden Eagles scored five runs on eight hits, had one error, and left six runners on base. VU had one run, three hits, and three runners left aboard. Williams took the loss and dropped to 3-0 but collected seven Ks in 4.1 innings of work. Iacomini covered the final 1.2 of the game and gave up only one hit and
Carson Cooper picked up her first collegiate hit.
CUI 8 VU 6 The Blue and Gold pumped six runs in over the first two innings in game two, which started with a one-out double by
Lilyana Roth down the left-field line. Farley then hit a grounder and both her and Roth ended up safe at first and third. After Farley swiped second,
Tiffany Pope hit a grounder that resulted in an error, with Roth scoring on the play.
Adriana Portillo was up next and she poked a single through the right side to cash in Farley and another single by
Adrianna Natividad brought home Pope to give the Lions a 3-0 advantage after half an inning.
However, the Golden Eagles stayed in striking distance by batting four singles in the bottom of the first off
LeeAnne Miranda to make the score 3-2. Undaunted, the Lions swung away for three more runs in the top of the second for a 6-2 lead. Walker was hit by a pitch with one out and she then stole second to get the offense going. Roth then sliced a single to put the pair at first and third, which brought up Farley. She snaked another grounder in the infield but CUI could not get an out on the throw, with Walker scoring the first run of the frame. After a wild pitch put Roth at third and Farley at second, Pope put another ball on the deck and again the Golden Eagles could not get an out for a 5-2 VU lead as Roth touched home base. An RBI single for
Megan Ireland gave Vanguard a 6-2 advantage but a leadoff home run by CUI in the bottom half cut the score to 6-3.
Though the Lions kept CUI at bay through the third and fourth innings, the hosts revised the story in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings. A two-out double in the fifth brought home two runs to trim the score to 6-5 and a walk, a single, and a pair of doubles stuck three on the board to put CUI ahead 8-6 in the sixth. The Blue and Gold could not respond in the top of the seventh to fall by two runs.
CUI scored eight runs on 13 hits, committed three errors, and left seven runners on base. VU had six runs on seven hits with eight runners stranded on the base paths. Roth went 2-for-4 and Portillo went 2-for-3 to pace VU. Pope led the squad with two RBI and four other players tallied one run batted in. Miranda did not factor in the decision and got one strikeout.
Mari Ipatzi had one strikeout in 3.2 of action and
Summer Stephens took the loss and fell to 1-3.
What's Next? The two programs will get reacquainted on Saturday with a noon doubleheader.
