@BearsSoftball Splits Exciting Day in California

Friday, March 10

Santa Barbara, CA

10:00 am

University of Northern Colorado

6-14

George Washington University

6-7

Northern Colorado

George Washington

3/10/2017 1:21:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Thomas Hoffman, uncbears.com

GAME 1 (PDF) | GAME 2 (PDF)

Santa Barbara, Calif – Northern Colorado Softball was out in sunny Southern California, Friday for a pair of games against George Washington and Sacred Heart. Both games came down to the wire, with UNC splitting the day with a 6-5 win over the Colonials and the 4-3 loss to Pioneers.

GAME 1 vs. George Washington
A quiet top half of the first inning, gave the Colonials a crack at drawing first blood in the tournament's kick-off game.

A lead-off walk, followed by a single, gave George Washington the chance they were looking for, already with a runner in scoring position and no one out in the inning. Two batters later, a double brought in the runner on second, allowing George Washington the early 1-0 lead.

Extra-base hits ruled in the Colonials favor again in the bottom of the second inning. Another double and a pair of singles pushed the lead out to three runs.

While George Washington was pitching a no-hitter through three innings, the Bears needed a little bit more work to blank the Colonials in the bottom half of the inning. Two consecutive base hits made the Bear faithful nervous, but the defense dug their heals in, stranding a pair of base runners to end the inning and keep the deficit at 3-0.

Twice the Colonials loaded the bases in the bottom half of the fourth inning, looking for more insurance runs. Despite threatening to break the game wide open, Northern Colorado stopped the leak after two runs, ending the inning down, 5-0.

It wasn't until the fifth inning that UNC earned its first hit of the day, thanks to an Emily Holtz single to first base. Though the Bears didn't score in the inning, the hit sparked something in the Northern Colorado offense that would come out in the sixth inning firing.

Cheyenne Talmadge, Erica Dick and Kenzie Kudrna all reached aboard safely to kick-off the inning. In stepped Rachel Johnson, who like most Bears, hadn't had a hit up to that point, but this time around on the first pitch she saw, launched a grand slam over the right field fence.

Lead in hand, Lauren Paige stepped into the circle with newfound confidence. A hit-by-pitch was the only blemish in the inning for Paige, keeping George Washington at bay and giving her offense one last opportunity to complete the comeback.

Pinch hitting for Talmadge in the seventh, Kaley Garcia wouldn't waste her shot at the plate, doubling to left field and immediately placing a runner in scoring position for the Northern Colorado offense. Without missing a step, the 2016 NCAA triples champ, Erica Dick rocketed another one of her specialties to right field and racing around to third base, sixty feet away from the go-ahead run. UNC's hero, Rachel Johnson donned her cape once again, lacing a single up the middle, bringing in Dick and delivering the Bears the lead.

Returning the favor for the Bears' first five scoreless innings, Lauren Paige neatly sat the Colonials down 1-2-3 in the seventh, closing out what was arguably the best finish for Shana Easley's squad all year, 6-5.

GAME 2
Holding Sacred Heart in the top half of the first inning, Northern Colorado looked to start their second game of the day off like they had ended the first.

A lead-off walk from Erica Dick set their plans in motion, and once again it was Rachel Johnson who drove her in to start the scoring for the Bears.

Kelli Kleis had things working in the circle early, blanking SHU in both the first and second innings. It wasn't until the third inning, with the score holding at 1-0 in favor of UNC, that she showed signs of trouble. A three-run home run and a walk forced head coach Shana Easley to go to bullpen, calling upon Jayme Reddacliff to hold Sacred Heart in check.

Offensively, the Bears struck back quickly. Like a broken record, Erica Dick's walk led to a scoring opportunity for Rachel Johnson. Fortunately for Johnson she didn't mind hearing that same tune all afternoon long, again driving in Dick and shrinking the lead to one.

Reddacliff held serve in the top of the fifth inning, making quick work of Sacred Heart.

Trailing by only a single run, Erica Dick wasn't about to let Rachel Johnson consume all the RBI's. The Boise, Idaho, native homered in the bottom of the fifth inning, tying the game at three.

Offenses sputtered for both squads as each pitcher found their respective groove. Each team holding each other at bay in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, meant the game went into a pivotal extra eighth inning.

With the international tie-breaker in place, Sacred Heart swiftly brought around the runner placed in scoring position, carrying a 4-3 lead into the bottom half of the frame.
Northern Colorado wouldn't be as lucky, however, going down 1-2-3 in the eighth, losing their second extra-inning game of the season.

KEY STAT
Walks – All day, the Bears' pitching staff gave up only three walks, compared to five by their opponents.

MOST VALUABLE BEAR
Rachel Johnson – Johnson played hero in the Bears' first game of the day against George Washington, bringing in five of UNC's six runs, including a grand slam in the sixth inning.

IN THEIR WORDS
Shana Easley, Head Coach
"In game one, we did a good job adjusting our at-bats and showed great fight. Lauren pitched well in relief and our team competed hard for the win."

"In game two, it was good to see leadership in the circle as Jayme came in and shut them down, hitting spots. Our execution at the plate needed to be better as we were being too tentative early and falling behind in counts. We know what to expect tomorrow with Sacred Heart again so we will look to make those adjustments."

"Rachel had a day at the plate and stepped up in some big situations in both games."

NOTABLES
-Rachel Johnson launched the first grand slam of her career.
-Northern Colorado completed their largest comeback of the 2017 season.
-UNC played in their second extra-inning game of the season against Sacred Heart. They are now 0-2 in such games.
-Erica Dick legged out her second triple of the season. Dick led the NCAA in triples per game a season ago.

UP NEXT
Northern Colorado drew the early game Saturday morning, facing Sacred Heart for the second time in as many games. First pitch is schedule for 10AM MST.