LOS ANGELES, Calif., -- The Loyola Marymount softball team split on its second day of the UCLA Tournament, as the team picked up a win in the eighth inning against Cal Poly, but then fell to No. 2 UCLA on Sunday.
"The fun thing about the first few weeks of the season is that we get to create and earn a team identity", said head coach
Sami Strinz-Ward. "We are fighters and we play tough until the last pitch. This team has a lot of fight. As we continue to learn and clean things up, we're going to be real tough."
The Lions (6-2) opened their second day of play Sunday morning against Cal Poly. The Mustangs got their first run in the first inning, but the Lions quickly responded, as
Sierra Marshall hit a single and got an RBI after
Maddison Flores got a run.
Hannah Bandimere picked up her fourth win of the season, as she pitched three innings and only allowed three hits and one run. The Mustangs scored three runs in the third inning, giving them a 4-1 lead.
LMU scored its second run in the fourth after
Molly Grumbo scored after
Riley Ehlen hit a double, giving her an RBI. The Lions maintained their momentum, as they scored four runs in the fifth inning to take the lead.
Flores got an RBI after she hit a single that resulted in a run from Sanchez. Flores then scored after
Taylor Keinath hit a double, giving her an RBI.
Marshall picked up her second RBI of the game after she singled and Grumbo scored. The Lions picked up their sixth run of the game after Keinath stole home.
The Mustangs tied things up in the sixth inning after scoring two runs. Tied up 6-6, the teams were forced to extra innings. The Mustangs went scoreless in the top of the eighth. After a single from
Irma Sanchez that sent
Megan Dedrick home, the Lions took the win.
Gonzalez went 3-4, while Jackson, Flores, Grumbo and Marshall all went 2-4. The Lions had a total of six RBIs and 15 hits, compared to Cal Poly's five RBIs and 11 hits.
Up 1-0 on the day the Lions took on UCLA, the second ranked team in the nation. The Lions battled it out until the end, but fell 3-1.
The Lions got their only run of the game in the third inning when Ehlen hit a homerun. The Bruins tied it up at the bottom of the third.
UCLA scored two runs in the fifth to take the lead. The Lions had bases loaded at the top of the seventh, as Sanchez and Wisz got a hit and Flores was hit by a pitch, but the Lions were not able to get a run.
The Lions ended their game against the Bruins with four hits and one RBI. Gonzalez, Sanchez and Ehlen all went 1-3.
The Lions will hit the road to Sacramento next weekend to take on Sacramento State, as the teams will play twice on February 23 and once on Sunday February 24.
