3/13/10 - Two Innings Royals’ Undoing

By Tim Gooszen

Fullerton, CA- On Saturday, Hope International allowed five runs in the first inning of Game 1 and three runs in the second inning of Game 2 and that proved to be enough for Concordia as they pulled off the sweep- 9-0 in six innings and 4-0. Freshman Janelle Medor had two hits on the day for the Royals.

Game 1 started with a walk, an error on a sacrifice, single, double, strikeout, error, single, and another error and before the National Anthem was off the minds of the fans Concordia led 5-0.

The Eagles (19-7, 4-2 GSAC) put runners on in every inning the rest of the game but the Royals (10-14, 0-8 GSAC) closed the door in the second, third, and fifth without giving up a run.  A two run home run in the fourth by Shannon Walton got to the Royals.  Then in the sixth the Royals had two outs before four consecutive singles produced the final two runs.

Offensively, the Royals had base runners in the first, fourth, and sixth but all were left stranded.  Senior Sheyna Alarcon was the base runner in the fourth after she doubled down the left field line.

Freshman Kayla Uphold, who only pitched the first inning before being relieved by Sophomore Alexis Alonzo, suffered the loss.

In the second game, the Royals worked out of a jam in the top of the first inning and nearly took the lead in the bottom of the inning.  Senior Lindsay Robillard doubled to right center.  A couple of pitches later, a wild pitch bounced off the back stop up the first line and Robillard was sent home but she was tagged on the head just before her foot touched the plate.

Concordia took advantage of the momentum.  With two outs, an error kept the top of the second inning alive and then a single put two runners on.  Uphold apparently just missed with a pitch that would have ended the inning with a strikeout.  Instead on the very next pitch, Katie Carson deposited a three run homerun over the right field fence to give CUI a 3-0 lead.

Though both teams had chances neither team could cash in a run over the course of the next four innings.  Defensively, two innings standout for the Royals during those four innings.  In the fifth, Uphold played catch with her catcher Alarcon as she struck out the first two hitters looking and then fielded a popup to end the inning.  In the sixth, with one out and a runner at first, Robillard snagged a line drive on the run near her shoelaces and fired to first to double up the runner.

A pair of singles sandwiched around a groundout created the final run of the game for the Eagles in the seventh.

Medor, pictured, collected both of her hits in the second game.

Uphold, who produced a hit in each game, went the distance in the circle and allowed just one earned run but was stuck with her second loss of the day.

Come Tuesday, the Royals will travel to Costa Mesa to square off with Vanguard.  First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm.

>> Back to Women's Softball Home Page