University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
20-16, 0
Sacramento State
15-10, 0
Recap: @bearssoftball Battles Hard, Falls to Sac St
3/24/2018 6:27:00 PM | Softball
Northern Colorado's lineup has another strong day, but not enough against the Hornets
Valerie Vidal faced off against Celina Matthias for the second time in this series and the two traded zeros in the first two innings of the game.
The third inning would be a hit parade for both teams, starting with the Hornets in the top of the inning. Sac St. scored two runs on four hits, while also leaving the bases loaded to get to Vidal for the second straight day.
UNC would respond quickly in the bottom of the third, when Kaley Garcia sent a line drive over the fence for a two-run, home run to tie the game. The Bears were not done in the inning and Lauren Pagie would triple to right field following the home run. Mady Young would double down the right field line to score Paige. An error by Sac St would allow Young to score and the Bears had jumped ahead 4-2.
The lead was short lived for UNC, as the Hornets kept the slugging contest going in the top of the fourth. Sac St scored five runs on five hits during the inning to knock Vidal out of the game and she was replaced in the circle by Paige. The back-breaking hit came from Suzy Brookshire with a three RBI double to clear the bases. The Hornets lead UNC 7-4.
Sophia Taylor would single to lead off the bottom of the fourth and she would score on a Madi Schmidt double. UNC cut the Hornets lead to 7-5.
The Bears managed to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth when Emma Brockmann doubled to left center to score Ally Steiner. Taylor would be back up at the plate and delivered a clutch double to left field to tie the game at seven.
In the bottom of the sixth, UNC seemed to blow the game wide open with four runs on three hits to take a 11-7 lead. Brockmann again came through with a double to score two runs for the Bears. UNC would score a run on a wild pitch and an error to give them a decent cushion going to the seventh.
Sac St's bats, like they had all day, countered the Bears lineup with a six run inning on five hits to take a 13-11 lead.
The Bears needed another big inning to try and get the sweep over the Hornets. Rachel Johnson had an RBI double to score Young that brought UNC within one of Sac St. UNC could not keep the rally going and was retired in the bottom of the seventh with two runners on.
In their words
Shana Easley, Head Coach
"We made the seventh inning a bigger deal then it had to be and we lost our focus. Our hitter's approaches were great. We were just aggressive and swinging free, while having a present mindset in the box throughout the whole weekend. We continued to fight all week and I think that will help us grow and pay dividends later on. I think we did a great job coming getting the two wins yesterday. It was important to come out and compete and get out of our comfort zone. I like that we had that all three games. Of course it's easy to have a blowout, but it's what our team needs to keep fighting and improve."
Emma Brockmann, Freshman Catcher
"It was a dog fight from the beginning and it got away from us at the end, but we knew that's what we were going to get from a team like that. I just know I have to go out and do a job. We've seen those pitchers so I knew what to expect. I went out and did by best to keep the rallies going for the team. We kind of took from what their hitters did yesterday and how they reacted to certain pitches. They're a great hitting team and it showed so we had to pitch more up and down. I think we did really well and came out and showed that we can compete."
Notes
- Northern Colorado's offense scored 33 runs and batted .424 against Sacramento State this weekend.
- The pitching staff for the Bears struggled with a 5.95 ERA and struck out only six batters, while walking 10.
- Sophia Taylor lead UNC with a .636 batting average over the weekend with six runs scored and two RBIs.
- Madi Schmidt and Emma Brockmann both at or above .500 in the three game series, with Schmidt recording a .545 average and Brockmann set right at .500.
- Kaley Garcia hit one home run over the weekend, and also batted .444 with five RBIs.
Next Up
Northern Colorado will host Southern Utah for a three game series next weekend, starting on Friday March 30th at 1 P.M.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sperry, Danielle (4-1)
L: Paige, Lauren (4-6)
S: Matthias, Celina (2)
Batting:
2B: Brookshire, Suzy 1 ; Spieth, Mo 2 ; Rasmussen, Sydney 1 ; Strong, Sydnee 1 ; Scott, Jessica 1
HR: Brookshire, Suzy 1
RBI: Hinton, Zamari 2 ; Brookshire, Suzy 6 ; Spieth, Mo 1 ; Rasmussen, Sydney 1 ; Strong, Sydnee 1 ; Scott, Jessica 1 ; Maligad, Marissa 1
SH: Rasmussen, Sydney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alas, Nene 2 ; Hinton, Zamari 2 ; Brookshire, Suzy 2 ; Rasmussen, Sydney 1 ; Strong, Sydnee 1 ; Sager, Rylee 1 ; Scott, Jessica 1 ; Vasquez, Jaciana 1 ; Maligad, Marissa 2
Batting:
2B: Taylor, Sophia 1 ; Schmidt, Madi 1 ; Paige, Lauren 1 ; Young, Mady 1 ; Johnson, Rachel 1 ; Brockmann, Emma 3
3B: Paige, Lauren 1
HR: Garcia, Kaley 1
RBI: Taylor, Sophia 1 ; Schmidt, Madi 1 ; Garcia, Kaley 2 ; Young, Mady 1 ; Johnson, Rachel 1 ; Brockmann, Emma 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor, Sophia 1 ; Schmidt, Madi 1 ; Garcia, Kaley 1 ; Paige, Lauren 1 ; Kudrna, Kenzie 1 ; Wiatrak, Jordyn 1 ; Young, Mady 3 ; Steiner, Ally 1 ; Brockmann, Emma 1 ; Talmadge, Cheyenne 1
SB: Taylor, Sophia 1 ; Wiatrak, Jordyn 1 ; Talmadge, Cheyenne 1
HBP: Paige, Lauren 1
