PHOENIX – Santa Clara softball split a pair of games against NCAA Tournament qualifiers from last season, beating Weber State 8-3 before falling to Grand Canyon 5-4 on the second day of the GCU Kickoff Classic on Saturday.
Game 1: Santa Clara 8 - Weber State 3
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Kendal Manley threw five shutout innings in relief and Elle Merlino homered as part of a 13-hit attack in Santa Clara's 8-3 victory over Weber State. It was SCU's second consecutive win over Weber State as they improved to 3-0 on the season.
- Weber State (0-3) touched up starter Hazyl Gray with three runs in the second. With the bases loaded, Gray uncorked a wild pitch to allow the first run and issued another walk, her third of the inning, to load the bases again before Kiaira Smith singled in two runs to give the Wildcats 3-1 lead.
- Manley came in relief of Gray to start the third inning and blanked them the rest of the way. She allowed four hits and just one walk in her five innings of work to pick up her first win of the season.
- Trailing 3-1, the Broncos sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and pushed across six runs. Merlino delivered a two-run home run on a full count offering by Raina Navarro to tie the game up at 3-all. It was her first career home run. Rebecca Rubio singled in the go-ahead run to plate Caitlyn Golob. SCU added three more runs on Gray's sacrifice fly, followed by RBI base hits from Taryn Clements and Robynn Balmediano to close out the six run frame, up 7-3. Rubio and Balmediano each went 3-for-4.
- Gray had another sac fly in the fifth for the final run of the game.
- Navarro gave up four runs on seven hits over three innings and was saddled with the loss.
Game 2: Grand Canyon 5 - Santa Clara 4
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Grand Canyon (4-0) remained undefeated on the season beating Santa Clara 5-4 on a walk-off wild pitch in the seventh inning. The Broncos (3-1) came back from three runs down to tie the game up at 4-all in the sixth but in the final inning, the Lopes put two runners in scoring position on a pair of hits and Addison Shifflett came into score on Ellison Schroeder's pitch that went into the dirt.
- The loss was the first of the season for Santa Clara.
- GCU scored a pair of runs in the second and fourth innings on a two-run homer by Trinity Martin and a two-RBI single by Sydney McCray, both coming against starter Avery Seva.
- Santa Clara chipped away at the Grand Canyon lead. First, on an RBI triple by Caitlyn Golob in the fifth. The next inning, Gray got the Broncos within a run on a solo home run, her second of the season, and Golob would tie it up on an RBI grounder.
- The run given up on the wild pitch was the first one for Schroeder in her 2 2/3 innings as she suffered the loss.
- Oakley Vickers pitched a total of 6 1/3 innings allowing five hits and three runs. She struck out seven and did not issue a walk to earn the victory.
NOTES:
- Senior Mariah Montalvo saw her first action behind the plate.
- Freshman Sofia Zavarella made her Bronco debut getting the starting nod at right field against Weber State.
NEXT UP:
- Santa Clara closes out play at the GCU Kickoff Classic on Sunday, facing Grand Canyon at 9 a.m. PT.
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