TURLOCK, Calif. – The Western Washington University softball team went 1-1 during the first day of the 17th Annual Tournament of Champions on Friday at Atch Pedretti Park.
WWU was defeated 1-0 on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 7th inning by Cal State Monterey Bay, but rebounded with a 4-2 victory over Hawai’i Hilo in the second game of the day.
With the 1-1 record during the day, WWU is now 9-16 on the season.
Western’s pitching once again shined, with starters Shearyna Labasan (Jr., Mililani, HI/Maryknoll) and Anna Kasner (So., Milton, WA/Fife) combining to allow only 3 runs and 10 hits in the two games combined.
Freshman third baseman Sam Silver (Mount Vernon, WA) was the hitting star of the day, recording a 3-run triple vs. Hawai’i Hilo that broke open what was a 1-1 tie at the time in the top of the 3rd inning.
The Vikings return to action in the Tournament of Champions tomorrow playing Cal State San Bernardino (10:30 am) and San Francisco State (1 pm) at Warrior Field on the Stanislaus State University campus. WWU concludes play in the TOC on Sunday facing Academy of Art (2 pm) and Cal State East Bay (4:30 pm) at the Pedretti complex.
Cal State Monterey Bay defeated the Vikings 1-0 on a walk-off hit by designated player Alyssa Burt with one out in the bottom of the 7th inning.
The Vikings and Otters were locked in a pitcher’s duel with Shearyna Labasan and Hayley Fein each keeping their opponent off the scoreboard through the first six innings.
Labasan retired 13 consecutive batters from the 1st through the 5th innings, until allowing a leadoff walk in the 6th inning.
After being limited without a hit in the first three innings, WWU had a few scoring opportunities in the game. The Vikings put a pair of runners on base with no outs in the 4th inning, but couldn’t push a run across. WWU again put a pair of runners on base in the 5th inning following singles by freshman second baseman Kira Doan (Brier, WA/Mountlake Terrace) and sophomore center fielder Jackie Lucido (San Jose, CA/Piedmont Hills), but a pair of strikeouts ended the inning to keep the game scoreless.
The Otters scored the winning run in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 7th inning. Second baseman Courtney Hennings led off with a bunt single and she moved to third base on a double down the left field line by catcher Savanna Salyer Kovacs. Burt then drove home the game-winning run with a single to center field to send the Otters to the victory.
Labasan (4-8) suffered the tough-luck loss allowing one run and 4 hits in the complete-game effort. She struck out six and issued one walk.
Fein (10-7) recorded the 5-hit shutout, recording 7 strikeouts without allowing a walk. Hennings went 2-for-3 with a run scored as the only player in the game to record a multi-hit game.
Cal State Monterey Bay 1, Western Washington 0 (March 23, 2018 at Turlock, CA)
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Western Washington.. 000 000 0 – 0 5 0 (8-16)
Cal St. Monterey Bay 000 000 1 – 1 4 0 (15-14)
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Pitchers: Western Washington – Labasan and Hardy
Cal St. Monterey Bay – Fein and Salyer Kovacs
Win-Fein(10-7) Loss-Labasan (4-8) T-1:35 A-35
WWU freshman third baseman Sam Silver delivered a 3-run triple to break open a 1-1 tie to help lead the Vikings to a 4-2 victory over Hawai’i Hilo in the second game of the day at the Tournament of Champions.
Sophomore starting pitcher Anna Kasner won her second consecutive start allowing 6 hits and 2 runs in her 9th complete game of the season. She struck out 9 and issued a pair of walks to improve to 5-7 on the season.
Silver finished 2-for-3 at the plate, with her triple to center field with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd inning providing the difference in the two-run victory. After Hilo starter Isabelle Mejia recorded two quick outs, WWU mounted a two-out rally to load the bases. Jackie Lucido and Kasner recorded back-to-back singles, and Kira Doan walked to load the bases, before Silver delivered the bases-clearing triple to the center field on a 2-2 pitch.
Hilo closed the gap to 4-2 with a leadoff home run by third baseman Bailey Gaspar in the bottom of the 3rd inning, but Kasner held the Vulcans scoreless over the final four innings to close out the victory.
UHH relief pitcher Leah Gonzales tossed 4.1 innings of 2-hit scoreless relief. Mejia (2-3) suffered the loss allowing 4 hits and 4 runs in 2.2 innings. She walked 6 and struck out 3 in her outing.
Western Washington 4, Hawai’i Hilo 2 (March 23, 2018 at Turlock, CA)
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Western Washington.. 103 000 0 – 4 6 1 (9-16)
Hawai’i Hilo…….. 101 000 0 – 2 6 2 (15-9)
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Western Washington – Kasner and Hardy
Hawai’i Hilo – Mejia; Gonzales (3) and Okamoto
Win-Kasner (5-7) Loss-Mejia (2-3) T-2:15 A-63
HR UHH – Gaspar (9)
— @WWUSoftball1 —
