3/16/10 - Royals Nipped By Lions

By Tim Gooszen

Costa Mesa, CA- On Tuesday, the Royals allowed the first run of the day and the last run of the day and scored six runs in between but were swept by Vanguard 1-0 and 7-6 in 10 innings.  Sophomore Alexis Alonzo and Freshmen Janelle Medor and Danielle Thomson all collected at least one hit in both games.

In the bottom of the first inning of Game 1, the Lions opened with a single to center followed by two stolen bases and a ground ball for a run scored.  Little did anyone know that would be the only run scored of the double header opener.

Offensively, the Royals did not see their first base runner until Alonzo singled to right leading off the sixth inning.  A double play turned the inning back in favor of the Lions.

The seventh inning started well with back to back singles by Medor and Thomson but a strikeout and two fly outs ended the inning and the game.

Freshman Kayla Uphold went the distance allowing just the one run but she was still on the hook for the loss and fell to 7-8 on the year.

Medor singled to left to open Game 2.  Thomson sacrificed her second and Uphold singled to right and went to second on an error by the right fielder which also scored Medor.  Two illegal pitches later Uphold scored and the Royals led 2-0 after one half inning.

After Vanguard scored in the bottom of the first, Thomson singled home Freshman Leslie Coffee- who single earlier- in the second inning and Alonzo singled to left to drive home Senior Lindsay Robillard in the third.  Vanguard answered with a run in the bottom of the third which meant the Royals led 4-2 after three innings complete.

A single and double scored a run for the Lions in the fifth and the scored remained 4-3 until the bottom of the seventh.

With a chance to win the game, the Royals defense faltered and Vanguard scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh and the game headed to extra innings.

Using the international tie breaker rule, each half inning is started with a runner at second base.

A fielder’s choice, double by Sophomore Bree Briones, and ground ball produced a run for Royals in the eighth.  In the ninth, an RBI single by Uphold drove home the only run for the Royals though they left the bases loaded.

For Vanguard, a double and fielder’s choice brought home the runner in the eighth and ninth.

In the tenth, the Royals (10-16, 0-10 GSAC) failed to scored and the Lions (16-10, 4-4 GSAC) capitalized pushing across the game winning run.

Alonzo threw 8.1 innings while giving up only three earned runs.  Uphold recorded the final two outs in the ninth in relief of Alonzo but then was tagged with her second loss of the day after only recording one out in the tenth.

On Saturday, the Royals will host Azusa Pacific for two at Craig Park at 12:00 pm.

>> Back to Women's Softball Home Page