Bears Sneak Past Tigers as Cal Softball Snaps Losing Streak
A last minute rally by the University of the Pacific fell just short, giving Cal a 6-5 midweek win
STOCKTON – The California Gold Bears (9-17, 0-3 ACC) took a quick trip north Tuesday evening for a midweek contest with the University of the Pacific Tigers (8-17) at Bill Simoni Field in Stockton, CA. Cal entered the game having lost their previous three games to Duke, hungry for a win to end the slide. To that end, head coach Steve Singleton tabbed sophomore pitcher Layna Gerhard to start for the first time since throwing a no-hitter against ETAMU a little over a week prior.
The Tigers squeaked out to a 1-0 lead at the very bottom of the first inning, when Allie Capello attempted to steal second with a runner at third. Capello worked her way into a pickle, and was eventually ruled out by a diving tag from Cal shortstop Gator Robinson near first base for the third out. Seconds before the tag was made however, Capello’s teammate on third base crossed the plate, earning Pacific a run. The blue & gold responded quickly in the top of the next frame as Maddie Rey knocked a solo home run into deep center field. Rey’s first homer of the season tied the game at 1 apiece, and her teammate Robinson added to that with her own moonshot to left field to take a 2-1 lead in the third.
A pitching change for the University of the Pacific in the top of the fourth did little to stop the Golden Bears from rolling. Cal scored on a pair of RBI singles from Sophia Everett and Gator Robinson respectively, along with an unearned run on a fielding error off a hit from Anaya Togia, to go up by four in fourth. Kayli Counts added one more in the top of the fifth, hitting an RBI groundout to advance a runner home, giving Cal a strong 6-1 lead.
Through five innings of play, Gerhard allowed just one hit in the fourth, and she was pulled from the circle in the bottom of the sixth as Tamya Waiters entered in relief. The Tigers were able to claw one run back in the same frame as the pitching change with a home run by Olivia Silvestre, and then another two in the seventh from a 2-run homer off the bat of Capello to bring the game within reach for Pacific. At that point, coach Singleton pulled Waiters from the circle after 1 IP, 3 H, and 3 ER, sending Gerhard back into play to finish the game. Layna however gave up Pacific’s fifth run when Bailey Boetjer sent the second pitch of her at bat over the left field fence, and then gave up a walk that put the game tying runner on first.
Singleton pulled Gerhard after the walk, sending out Kiki Mashhoud to close out the game. Layna Gerhard ended her outing with 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, and 3 K’s. Mashhoud finished the inning in just three pitches, collecting her second save of the season by putting Pacific down on a pop-out, a fielder’s choice, and a ground out.
California earned the midweek win with solid hitting from their lineup, and stellar pitching from Layna Gerhard to keep Pacific to just one hit going into the sixth inning. Robinson went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI’s, improving her batting average to .344. Similarly, Rey went 2-3 with a home run and one RBI.
WP: Layna Gerhard (4-1) 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 77 NP.
Save: Kiki Mashhoud (2) 1 IP, 3 NP.
LP: Alexa Lewis (4-3) 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 92 NP.