May 14, 2011

Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. - LMU's run for its fourth Pacific Coast Softball Conference title came to an end Saturday afternoon as Portland State claimed an 8-1 victory in game two of the PCSC Championship Series at Erv Lind Stadium in Portland, Ore. Following Friday's 3-2 extra-innings defeat in game one, the Lions (32-27) entered the day needing two wins to keep their season alive but the Vikings (34-16) used a 12-hit attack to tie LMU's record of three conference championships.

The Lions, who entered the series averaging 4.8 runs per game, were held to a total of just three runs on the weekend by PSU's pitchers. Series Most Outstanding Pitcher Anna Bertrand (16-8), who registered both wins in the series, tossed a complete-game six-hitter and stranded nine Lion runners. LMU just could not muster that crucial hit. After stranding 11 runners on Friday, the Lions left the bases loaded in the first and fifth innings and left eight runners in scoring position overall.

LMU was led by juniors Kylie Ahlo and Sam Fischer, who both went 2-for-4. Fischer added her 16th double of the season, tying for the third-highest single-season total in school history, and moving into a tie for fourth place on the career list with 38. Sophomore Danielle Smith was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, giving her 76 hits on the year, tied for fourth-most in LMU history. Freshman Kathryn Dutton chipped in her 10th homer of the season.

Sophomore Dana Walduksy (9-8) took the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits in five innings.

Series Most Valuable Player Jenna Krogh went 3-for-4 with three RBI at the top of the Viking lineup while Danielle Lynn also chipped in three hits.

For the second straight day, the visiting team took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Krogh led off with a single and came home on Lynn's two-out single up the middle. Immediately, the Lions had a chance to bounce back, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a Fischer single but LMU's fortunes would change in the span of two pitches. First, sophomore Olivia Alvarez grounded out on a 3-0 pitch to end the inning and then Lacey Holm hit Waldusky's very first offering of the second inning over the fence in left to double the Vikings' advantage. PSU would tack on another run later in the second when Krogh's blooper dropped in for a double, allowing Becca Bliss to score from second.

Dutton, who went 3-for-4 on Friday while battling flu-like symptoms, got the Lions on the board in the fourth with a lead-off homer to center, her 10th of the season.

The Lions would threaten again in the fifth, only for Bertrand to again work her way out of a bases-loaded jam. Smith's one-out walk got things going for LMU and Ahlo beat out a bunt to put runners on first and second. In a sign that it was not to be LMU's weekend, Fischer lined a 3-2 shot that Crysta Conn snagged on the fly at third for the second out. A walk to junior Kelly Sarginson loaded the bases for Dutton but Bertrand induced an inning-ending groundout to third.

PSU would make the Lions pay and pull away with a five-run sixth. as Lynn's lead-off single marked the end of the day for Waldusky. On came sophomore Molly Medeiros but LMU's normally solid defense suddenly was shaky. First, freshman Meghan Harman got eaten up by a grounder at third, putting runners on first and second. Then Medeiros threw away Holm's sacrifice bunt, allowing Lynn to race home from second. Karmen Holladay followed with a single that just eluded senior Amy Charpentier's glove at second, bringing home two more runs to increase the hosts' advantage to 6-1. A Brandi Campos single kept the inning going and knocked Medeiros out, bringing in freshman Stevie Goldstein. She couldn't do much to stop PSU's hot bats, though, allowing a two-run single to Krogh that made it 8-1.

A two-out single by Ahlo and a Fischer double gave the Lions some life in the seventh but Bertrand shut the door by sneaking a curve ball past Sarginson on the outside corner to send the Vikings to the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to the day's action, the All-Conference awards were announced, with nine Lions earning recognition. Medeiros was the Coastal Division Player of the Year and was joined on the First Team by Fischer, Smith, and Ahlo. Sarginson was a Second Team selection and Harman, Dutton, Alvarez, and Charpentier all earned Honorable Mention status.