2/26/10 - Uphold Strikes Beacons

By Tim Gooszen

Medford, OR- Freshman Kayla Uphold recorded 10 strikeouts and hit two triples with a run scored to lead Hope International to a 2-1 eight inning victory over Northwest Christian on Friday at the Southern Oregon Invitational.

Uphold, pictured, tripled twice but her triple in the bottom of the sixth was what led to the first run of the game.  Junior Caitlin Angel, with one of her three singles on the day, drove Uphold home to give the Royals a short lived 1-0 lead.

The Beacons (5-8) turned a lone single into a run in the top of the seventh thanks to two errors by the Royals (6-2).

Northwest Christian returned the error favor in the bottom of the eighth to give the Royals the game. 

Using the International tie break rule, as the previous last out in the bottom of the seventh Freshman Janelle Medor was placed at second base to begin the inning.  Sophomore Alexis Alonzo laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Medor up to third.  On the very next pitch, the Beacons’ catcher mishandled a fastball down the middle.  Medor broke from third as the ball rolled out in front of the catcher and turned on the jets to score the game winning run.

With at least one strikeout in every inning (two in the first, fifth, and sixth innings), Uphold improved to 5-0 on the year in the circle.

With the afternoon off, the Royals will rest up for two games on Saturday beginning with Simpson at 11:00 am.  Hope International will then meet up with Oregon Tech at 1:00 pm to close out their participation in the Southern Oregon Invitational.

>> Back to Women's Softball Home Page