Feb. 13, 2016 LMU vs UMBC Box Score
LMU vs Idaho State Box Score
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PHOENIX - LMU softball earned a second straight sweep of UMBC and Idaho State on day two of play at the GCU Kickoff Tournament Saturday in Phoenix. Big offensive innings were again key as the Lions (4-0) opened the day with a 7-2 victory over the Retrievers and a 9-1, 5 inning win against the Bengals.
"I'm happy with how we are swinging the bats right now," said Head Coach Sami Strinz-Ward. "Our team is locked in at the plate and the ball is jumping off of their bats. We are also getting really good defensive performances, and our aggressive base running had been a lot of fun to watch."
A six-run bottom of the third powered the Lions against UMBC. Stephanie Maciel started things off by drawing a walk and advancing to second on a wild pitch. The junior then scored on an Amanda Dirks double to left. Stephanie Crist's single to left sent Dirks across home plate and, two batters later, Crist and Alicia Brown would score on Alex Finie's double to left field.
Aria Pogni reached on an error that also allowed Finie to cross home plate, then concluded the six-run inning by scoring herself on Meghan von Behren's sacrifice fly to center.
With the six-run cushion, starting pitcher Hannah Bandimere (2-0) exited after four innings and Crist took over for the final three innings of relief. Christ gave up a run in the fifth and one in the seventh, but never let the Retrievers rally.
The Lions totaled 11 hits in the game as each batter collected at least one hit. Sterling Shuster and Brown had two hits each and Finie led the way with two RBIs.
It took the Lions just five innings to close out the win over Idaho State as four-run first and fifth innings, along with a single run in the fourth, allowed for the mercy rule.
von Behren, Dirks, Brown, Hannah Montalbano and Rachel Williams all drove in runs while Rachael Farrington (2-0) earned the five-inning, complete-game victory in the circle.
"I was really happy with how Rachael threw in the second game, she went right at the batters and I was proud of how she was competing," said Strinz-Ward. "It's also been a lot of fun to execute the things we have been focusing on in practice. Alex Finie laying down the squeeze (against Idaho State) and Amanda Dirks trusting her to get the job done and scoring on a close play was meaningful as it has been something we have been rehearsing in practice.
"It was great to see Rachel Williams come in for the pinch hit game winning double," Strinz-Ward continued. "She was focused and had a plan and swung with a purpose. Our entire team has earned the four victories we have this weekend. I'm very pleased with the path we are on and the standards we are setting for ourselves as a team."
The Lions conclude tournament play against the host Lopes on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. PT.
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