April 1, 2011

Seattle Box Score
BYU Box Score

LOS ANGELES - Junior Sam Fischer homered twice for the second straight game, including a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning and junior Kylie Ahlo drove in the game-winning run in the eighth to lift LMU to an 11-10 extra innings win over Seattle in the opening game of the Pre-Conference Round-up Friday in Las Vegas. After winning their sixth game in a row, the Lions (14-17) could not keep the offense going in the day's second game, falling 4-0 to BYU in the nightcap.

LMU 11, Seattle 10 (8 inn.)
It was a wild start to the weekend for LMU and Seattle, who combined for 21 runs, 24 hits, and four errors in the extra innings affair. The Lions committed three of those errors - opening the door to eight unearned runs for the Redhawks (3-20) - but were saved by three home runs, including two by Fischer, and Ahlo's game-winning hit in the eighth.

In her previous game, Fischer had registered her first two-homer game of the season and set a new career-high with six RBI. She equaled the homer feat with her seventh and eighth round-trippers of the year and drove in five in this contest to move into the LMU career RBI top-10, passing Margo Pineda for 10th all-time with 92. Fischer was one of six different Lions to register multi-hit games as LMU banged out a season-high 15 hits, tying for the sixth-most in a single game in school history.

It was Fischer's solo homer in the first that put the Lions on top but Seattle, playing as the home team, stormed back with four runs in the bottom of the inning as LMU's errors began to play a part. With one out, a dropped fly ball in the outfield kept the inning going and the Redhawks would get three consecutive RBI singles from Natalie, Leyland, Brianna Guerrero, and Karina Smyth to score four unearned runs and take a 4-1 lead.

Slowly, the Lions clawed their way back. LMU scored a single run in the second without a hit when sophomore Olivia Alvarez reached on an error, went to second when freshman Meghan Harman was hit by a pitch, was sacrificed to third, and came home on a wild pitch. Two more walks loaded the bases but senior Amy Charpentier flew out to end the inning. That would not matter as the Lions tied the game in the third. Junior Kelly Sarginson's eighth homer of the season, a solo shot to left, made it 4-3 and Alvarez followed with a single, tying the game on Harman's double to center.

The tie would not last long, though, as Seattle scored another four times in the bottom of the third. Another LMU error prolonged the inning and Sarah Petosa dealt a big blow with a two-run single that made it 8-4.

Yet again, the Lions refused to go away. Consecutive singles by senior Jennifer Nayudu and sophomore Danielle Smith started off the fourth and they were sacrificed to second and third. After Fischer struck out, Sarginson came through with a two-out single to right, scoring both to bring the Lions within two, 8-6.

The score would remain that way until the seventh as LMU freshman pitcher Stevie Goldstein settled into a groove. LMU's third pitcher of the game, Goldstein came on with one out in the third and, although she gave up Petosa's two-run single, she would retire 11 of the first 12 batters she faced. In the meantime, the Lions rallied in the top of the seventh. With one out, Nayudu walked. Smith followed with a single, her third of the game, and Charpentier also singled to load the bases for Fischer. Seattle pitcher Richelle Ashburn took Fischer to a full count but then grooved a pitch, which Fischer launched over the leftfield fence for a grand slam and a 10-8 LMU lead.

However, for the third time in the game, an LMU error allowed Seattle to come back. Following a leadoff single, an error put the second runner on. Goldstein bore down and retired the next two batters but Smyth delivered the game-tying, two-run single to right center to knot things at 10.

For the second time this season, the Lions found themselves in extra innings and they would strike first. With Alvarez placed on second as part of the international tiebreaker, Harman sacrificed her to third. Although Ashburn would get the next out, Ahlo put the Lions back on top with a two-out single up the middle. Goldstein then closed out the win by stranding the tying run at third by striking out Jessica Ulrich looking to end the game.

Goldstein (2-4) tossed 5 2/3 innings of four-hit relief, allowing two unearned runs and striking out five. Sophomore Molly Medeiros had gotten the start, lasting 2/3 inning in which she gave up four unearned runs on three hits and a pair of walks. Sophomore Dana Waldusky was LMU's middle pitcher, allowing four runs (two earned) on two hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Fischer's grand slam was LMU's fourth of the season, topping the previous high of three that the team hit in 2006. In addition to Fischer's 2-for-4 performance, Smith went 3-for-4 to extend her hitting streak to 12 games with her team-leading 13th multi-hit game of the year. Sarginson, Harman, Ahlo, and Nayudu also collected two hits for the LMU offense.

BYU 4, LMU 0
Having scored a combined 25 runs in its previous two outings, the Lions were blanked by BYU's Paige Affleck and Hannah Howell in the day's second game. The pair combined on a five-hitter to outduel sophomore Erica Grady (1-1), who allowed just seven hits and two earned runs in her second career start.

The teams matched zeroes for the first three innings before the Cougars (17-14) broke through in the fourth without getting the ball out of the infield. Three infield singles, the last by Krista Hicks, gave BYU the game's first run.

The Lions could not capitalize on two Cougar errors in the fifth as Nayudu was thrown out at home trying to score the tying run. That would prove pivotal as BYU would push across three more runs, one on an infield single by JC Clayton and two more on a dropped pop up as another error hurt the Lions.

Harman had two of LMU's five hits, with Sarginson, Ahlo, and Nayudu providing one single apiece. Smith saw her career-best hitting streak halted at 12 games after going 0-for-3.

LMU will face BYU again Saturday morning at 11:15 a.m. before taking on hosts UNLV at 3:45 p.m. as the tournament concludes.