CARSON, Calif. -- For VU Softball, rain from earlier in the week saw their first California Collegiate Athletic Association matchup against San Bernardino cancelled. Saturday, the Lions made the short trip to Carson to face the Toros of Dominguez Hills as their final preparation before Pacific West Conference play starts next weekend. The home team took both games, defeating the Lions 5-3 and 10-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Lilyana Roth and
Tiffany Pope led the team on the day with three hits each, with Pope notching her first career home run in game two. VU dropped to 6-9 and Dominguez Hills went to 11-5.
GAME 1: CSUDH 5 VU 3 Vanessa Robles,
Mia Iacomini, and
Mari Ipatzi all shared the workload in the circle in the opening contest for the Lions. The Blue and Gold got on the bags early via the bats of
Kamryn Walker and Roth, with Walker slapping a single and Roth beating out a bunt for a hit. But the Toros kept them from roaming too far, catching both runners out in the base paths on a double steal to get out of the first inning unscathed. CSUDH scored the first run of the afternoon in the bottom of the first, as a fielding error and a couple of singles quickly loaded up the bases. A single up the middle brought home one run, but Robles ended the inning with her first of two strikeouts of the day.
The Lions quickly bounced back in the second, as Pope got an infield single and scurried over to third base after a groundout and a wild pitch.
Kayla Rodriguez put down a dribbler in the infield, and Pope slid home safely, with Rodriguez also reaching on the fielder's choice. The Lions would end up leaving three runners stranded on the bases to end the inning, as the Toros narrowly escaped for a second time.
The bottom of the third inning was the moment the Toros put a stamp on the game, cashing in when the bases were loaded, as four runs came across on four hits. While Ipatzi got the final two outs to leave the bases loaded, the damage had been done. It briefly looked like the Blue and Gold might mount a late comeback in the final frames of game one, as Pope hit a one-out double in the top of the sixth. Rodriguez tallied her second RBI of the afternoon as she brought Pope home on a bouncing single over second base to cut the deficit to 5-2. Walker worked a walk in the seventh inning with two outs, and a Roth double allowed Walker plenty of time to touch all the bases and make it home, but the Toros got the final out after that.
CSUDH had five runs on 11 hits and left nine on the base paths. VU used eight hits to score three runs, committed one error, and left six runners stranded. Robles dropped to 3-3, and Iacomini had one strikeout. Roth went 3-for-4, while Pope and Rodriguez went 2-for-3.
CSUDH 10, VU 1 Lauren Cantwell got the nod in the circle for the Lions in game two, and she went three innings with one strikeout. However, the Toros got going early with two runs in the first, and another two quickly followed in the third. Pope delivered a blessing in the top of the fourth inning, as she launched a ball deep to center field for the first home run of her Vanguard career. Despite the exciting celebration at the plate, that ended up being the sole Vanguard score in game two. The Toros exploded with six runs of their own in the fourth frame, as six hits and an error pushed Dominguez Hills into a 10-1 lead. The home team prevented the Lions from tacking on any runs in the next frame, with the eight-run lead putting the mercy rule into effect.
The Toros had 14 hits and left four runners on base, while Vanguard had three runs, one error, and four runners left on base. Cantwell was charged with seven of the eight runs that came across during her period in the circle, and Ipatzi was charged the final two.
What's Next? The PacWest season opens with a long road trip and a four-game stint against the Penguins of Dominican, which opens Friday at noon.
