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Box Score 2 SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara softball made it a sweep on back-to-back days at the Silicon Valley Classic II tournament with a big sixth inning in both games beating UC Davis 3-2 and Utah State 9-6 on Saturday. The Broncos have now won four-straight after a doubleheader sweep of Utah State a day earlier.
Game 1: Santa Clara 3 – UC Davis 2
The Santa Clara bats struggled for much of the game but came through in the clutch to score two runs in the sixth for a 3-2 comeback win over UC Davis.
UC Davis (13-7) starter Sarah Reineman held onto a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth having retired 10-straight Broncos.
Leading off the sixth, Emma Bickford reached on an error to break Reieneman's streak. Sammy Needham followed with a single before Lauren LaHood doubled home Bickford to tie the game up at 2-all.
Morgan Salmon followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Bethany Shih who pinch ran for Needham for the Broncos (12-12) go-ahead run.
Hannah Edwards (3-3) who came in relief of starter Sage Hager in the third and threw the final 4 2/3 innings to earn the win.
In the seventh, Leah Polson singled with one out and advanced to scoring position with two outs but Edwards retired Sarah Starks on a liner to short for the final out.
Reineman (2-2) threw a six-inning complete game, giving up four hits, three runs and walking three in a losing effort.
Game 2: Santa Clara 9 - Utah State 6
Santa Clara came up on top in a back and forth affair in the night cap putting up five runs in the sixth to overcome a two-run deficit to defeat Utah State 9-6.
Trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth, the Broncos loaded the bases. Bailey McLaughlin was hit by a pitch in the head by Jessica Stewart that pushed a run across to cut the lead by a run.
With the bases still loaded, Emma Stewart hit a grounder to second baseman Claudia Medina who mishandled it to allow two runs, including the go-ahead run, to score on the fielding error.
Santa Clara (13-12) added a pair of insurance runs on Sammy Needham's double to extend the lead to 9-6.
Entering the home half of the sixth, Utah State seemed to have all the momentum having scored four runs to flip a Broncos 4-2 lead to a 6-4 Aggies advantage. The big hit in the inning came off the bat of Claire Raley who had a bases clearing double.
Raley finished 2-for-2 with two runs and four RBIs.
Bailey McLaughlin, Needham and Regan Dias each had two RBIs for SCU.
Dias (1-2) threw the final 1 2/3 innings for her first win of the season. Stewart (0-1) was the hard luck losing pitching giving up four runs, all unearned, over an inning of work.
NEXT UP
Santa Clara plays CSUN on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the third and final day of the SVC II tournament. Check out the SVC II Tournament Central page for the latest updates on schedule with inclement weather in the weekend forecast.
