Friday, April 5, 2013

TURLOCK, Calif. - Shortstop Dani Wall drove in three runs as Saint Martin's edged nationally ninth-ranked Humboldt State 5-4 Friday in their opening game of the Mizuno Softball Tournament of Champions.

It was a solid Day 1 for GNAC teams who as a group ended the day with a winning record.  Saint Martin's, Simon Fraser, Central Washington and Western Washington each won a pair of games.

The Saints improved to 22-10 also blanking Cal State San Bernardino 8-0 as Sam Munger and Taylor Bakis combined for a two-hitter.  Each pitcher allowed one hit in three innings. Munger recorded her 11th win against five losses.

Left fielder Madi Davis drove in four of the Saint runs, while first baseman Joslyn Eugenio had three hits and a pair of RBI.

SMU scored a run on an error in the bottom of the seventh to upset Humboldt State.  Wall's RBIs came on a two-run single in the first and a RBI single in the fifth to tie the game at 4-4.  Bakos pitched the seventh  to record her 10th win against five losses.

Kelsie Hawkins pitched a two-hit shutout as Simon Fraser (18-14) finished its opening day defeating Hawaii Pacific 1-0 after beating conference rival Western Oregon 10-5.

The Clan got the game's lone run against the 2010 NCAA Division II national champions in the fourth as designated player Kaitlyn Cameron doubled and pinch-runner Rachel Kolanko advanced on a single by shortstop Danielle Raison.  Kolanko then stole home for the winning run as Raison swiped second.

Hawkins walked two and fanned three improving her record to 10-4.

Trisha Bouchard, Cameron and designated player Nicole Ratel each drove in two runs in SFU's win over Western Oregon.  The Clan, which jumped to a 6-0 lead in the third inning, outhit the Wolves 12-6.

Heidy Wells recorded two wins as Central Washington (14-12) won two of its three contests.  Wells came on in relief in the first inning after Cal State San Bernardino had scored five runs and held the Coyotes to two hits over 6 1/3 innings as CWU rallied for a 7-5 win. 

CWU tied the game with three runs in the third, then went ahead in the fourth on a RBI double by Maikala Galusha and a run-scoring single by Andrea Hamada.

After the Wildcats lost in extra innings 2-1 to Humboldt State, CWU bounced back to beat Chico State 6-2 as Wells scattered seven hits. 

Catcher Elena Carter's three-run home run in the seventh keyed a four-run inning.  Second baseman Jill McDaniels also had three RBI, doubling for two runs in the third before producing CWU's first run in the seventh with a single.

Western Washington (18-16) defeated Academy of Art 5-1 and Chico State 8-1 for its victories.

Cheyenne Best's grand slam home run in the bottom of the sixth snapped a 1-1 tie and powered the Vikings to a 5-1 win over Academy of Art.  Best, who was six of nine on the day, also drove in WWU's first run in the second with a single.  Alexie Levin allowed four hits in six innings to pick up the victory.

Meghan Carrillo and Haylee Baker had two RBI each against Chico State as Levin allowed just one unearned run to earn her second victory of the day and seventh of the season against five losses.  The Vikings lost their middle game 5-0 to Cal State Monterey Bay to finish 2-1 on the day.

Western Oregon (19-18) split its two contests. After losing to Simon Fraser, the Wolves overcame a 4-1 deficit to defeat host Cal State Stanislaus 7-6 despite getting just five hits. 

WOU benefitted from nine walks, four CSUS wild pitches and four passed balls.  Hannah Pomeroy got the win, her 10th against four losses.

MSU Billings (8-20) lost to Cal State Monterey Bay 6-1 and Academy of Art 5-1, while Northwest Nazarene (5-31) lost to Cal Baptist 2-0 in eight innings, 10-1 to Dominican and 5-1 to Hawaii Hilo.