IRVINE, CALIF. – After getting rained out on Thursday in Riverside, the OUAZ softball team got back in action against Westcliff. The Spirit dropped the first game, but put together an excellent performance to end Friday afternoon with a victory.
Game 1: Westcliff 5, OUAZ 2
OUAZ scored early on Friday, grabbing its only runs of the contest in the second inning.
Kelli Samorano and
Savannah Sutton led of the frame with back-to-back singles, and after getting into scoring position on a wild pitch, both came home on a single from
Elise Berges.
The next three innings, neither team found their way around the bases, but the Spirit did come close in the fifth inning. Samorano singled with two outs, and
Serena Shine was thrown out at home trying to score from second to end the threat.
Westcliff broke out in the sixth inning, plating five runs to take what would be the game-deciding lead. After scoring on a bases-loaded hit by pitch and a fielding error with the bags full on the next at bat, a three-run triple by Brittney Slocum gave the Warriors the lead.
Shine had a great contest at the plate, recording three hits on four at-bats. Samorano and Sutton had matching 2-for-3 stat lines, and also scored a run for OUAZ in the second.
Game 2: OUAZ 6, Westcliff 0
The Spirit fought back in the second game, and won in convincing fashion to close out Friday afternoon. OUAZ scored three runs in the fourth and three runs in the sixth while allowing just six baserunners to Westcliff.
The scoring got started in dramatic fashion, as
Kaylee Ramirez blasted a pinch-hit three-run home run to seize momentum in the fourth. In the seventh, the Spirit loaded the bases with no outs, then scored on consecutive plate appearances with a walk, a single, and fielder's choice.
Samorano had another multi-hit game, getting a pair of knocks, and coming around to score twice.
Mia Casadei also had a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, and walking once.
Brooklynne Esquibel was the third Spirit player to have two hits in the second contest of the day.
Alyvia Hernandez earned her second shutout of the season, pitching seven strong innings to lead the Spirit to the win. Hernandez struck out four batters, and scattered six hits over the seven frames.
OUAZ will come back to Arizona and play next weekend, heading down to Tucson for six contests in the Tucson Invitational Games. The Spirit will start with a doubleheader on Friday, March 1, facing off against Puget Sound and Dickinson State.
