March 26, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

LOS ANGELES - LMU used a bases-clearing double from junior Amy Charpentier as part of a four-run second inning, scoring early and often to defeat UNLV 7-1 on Friday at Smith Field. The Lions (12-11) extend their winning streak to nine games while taking the rematch with the Rebels (20-12), who had won the teams' first meeting in Las Vegas on February 14.

When UNLV beat LMU earlier this season, it had done so thanks to a four-run first inning en route to a 7-3 victory. This time, the Lions turned the tables, using a four-run inning of their own in the second to take control of the game. After UNLV had stranded runners on second and third in the top of the second, senior Darcy Pagnini led off the bottom of the frame with a single, one of her two hits on the afternooon. One out later, junior Priscilla Satete singled to right but senior J.J. Hartung struck out for the second out. That's when LMU's bats came alive. Junior Jennifer Nayudu kept the inning going with a single up the middle, with the game's first run coming home when UNLV's centerfielder bobbled the ball. Freshman Danielle Smith then loaded the bases with a bunt single, bringing up Charpentier. Following a conference on the mound, Charpentier, who had just five RBI on the season to that point, greeted Jessica O'Connor's first pitch by sending it off the wall in left-center for a three-run double.

Senior Melissa Dykema kept the high-scoring Rebels off the board until the fifth when Kylie Wagner doubled to center, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and came home on Tara Bendt's single. Another single ended Dykema's day with the tying run at the plate but freshman Molly Medeiros came on and got out of the inning with no further damage.

Keeping the Rebels off the board in the fifth would prove to be valuable as sophomore Sam Fischer crushed O'Connor's first offering in the bottom of the frame over the centerfield fence for her team-leading sixth home run of the season. The inning continued with a walk, error, and sacrifice that put runners on for Hartung, who delivered with a two-run single to left to put the game out of reach.

Dykema (8-6) picked up her seventh straight victory, allowing a single run on six hits while striking out three. It was her 60th career victory, putting her alongside just two players, including former teammate Tiffany Pagano, to reach that level in Pacific Coast Softball Conference history. Medeiros grabbed her first career save with 2 1/3 innings of two-hit relief.

Eight of LMU's nine starters had at least one hit, led by two each from Pagnini and Nayudu. Fischer's home run extended her hitting streak to nine games, matching her season-high, and put her into a tie with Emily Foltz (2002-05) for seventh place on the LMU career home run list with 18.

LMU closes out its 10-game homestand on Sunday when it hosts fifth-ranked UCLA for a doubleheader starting at noon. With their scheduled match-ups in each of the last two years getting rained out, it will be the teams' first meeting since the Lions knocked the Bruins out the 2007 NCAA Tournament