by Vince Ghiringhelli, UPS Sports Info
TACOMA, Wa. – After getting blown out 20-3 in the first
game of Saturday's Northwest Conference doubleheader against
the Pacific Boxers, the Puget Sound Loggers came back in the bottom
of the seventh inning to take the second game of the twinbill, 8-7,
and earn their first victory at Logger Softball Field in 2010.
In the first game, Pacific came out swinging for the fences
early, hitting two home runs in the top of the first en route to
five runs to open the game. The same happened in the second, as
Pacific took a 10 run lead on a grand slam by Brooke Toy with two
outs in the inning. Pitcher Chelsea Chamberlain would hit another
grand slam for the Boxers in the top of the fourth to give pacific
a commanding 16-0 lead.
The Loggers wouldn't get on the board until the bottom of
the fourth, when Cassie Walny (University Place, Wash./Curtis)
would hit a sacrifice fly for an RBI, making the score 16-1. The
Loggers would get two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, but it
wouldn't be enough to stave off the mercy rule and the game
would end 20-3.
Auriel Sperberg (Spanaway, Wash./ Graham Kapowsin) got the loss
in the first game, and Chamberlain picked up the victory in a five
inning game.
In the nightcap, the Loggers looked like a completely different
team from the get-go. After opening up a four run lead after two
innings, the Puget Sound looked poised to create some distance
between themselves and the Boxers before Pacific showed that they
wouldn't go down without a fight.
After the Boxers scored two runs in the top of the fourth, Puget
Sound answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning
to cushion the lead. The advantage would last for the Loggers after
Pacific hit three consecutive home runs in the top of the fifth to
tie things up and then added two runs in the top of the sixth to go
up by two runs.
The Loggers narrowed the gap to one run in the bottom of the
sixth, and then blanked Pacific in the top of the seventh to
position themselves for the comeback. After loading the bases with
two outs in the game's final inning, Megan Janes (Littleton,
Colo./Arapahoe) hit a high fly ball in the infield that Mother
Nature blew around enough to let it hit the ground just behind the
pitching circle, scoring the tying and game winning run in the
process.
Janes and Carolyn Moore (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names) had three
hits in four plate appearances each for Puget Sound, while Janes
led the Loggers with four RBI's. Sperberg picked up the win
for the Loggers after taking over for Aryn Grause (Corvallis,
Ore./Crescent Valley) in the sixth inning.
The Loggers will hit the diamond again tomorrow to take on
Linfield at Logger Softball Field. The first pitch is set to be
thrown at noon.
