MCMINNVILLE, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College softball rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game and then scored three more in the top of the eighth, to earn a comeback 7-4 (eight-inning) win over Chapman University in the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament contest.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 7, Chapman 4 (8 innings)
(Lewis & Clark 32-11)
(Chapman 31-10)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a matchup of two teams receiving votes in the National Poll, Lewis & Clark started slowly, but strung together key hits in the final two frames and used a stellar outing from junior ace
Maggie O'Leary, to advance into the winner's bracket.
The Pioneers will take on Northwest Conference foe #6 Linfield University on Friday at Noon with a spot in the Regional Finals on the line. The Wildcats defeated fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales University (Providence) 12-2 in five innings in the first game of the day.
Graduate student
Mari Alvarez went 3-3 with two run scored, three RBI, a walk, a hit by pitch and hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning in her first taste of NCAA Tournament play. Alvarez, sophomore
Harper Campanella and junior
Lacey Marglin all had RBI hits in the top of the seventh to tie the game.
Marglin finished 3-4 with an RBI single that tied the game with two down and two strikes in the top of the seventh. Junior
Gina Ozuna added two hits, two runs scored, a double and scored the game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning. Senior
Sam Gildersleeve added two hits in five trips to the plate, including her team-leading fifth triple of the season.
In the circle, junior
Maggie O'Leary threw an eight-inning complete game for the second time in as many weeks. She held the Panthers to just two hits through the first five innings and finished the game allowing seven hits, two walks and four runs (three earned).
Chapman jumped out to an early lead with runs in each of the first two innings.
The "home team" took a 1-0 lead in the first. Leadoff hitter Miranda Murphy was hit by a pitch, took second on a sac bunt and scored on a throwing error with one down.
Chapman added a second run in the second when Morgan Lasti led off with her first home run of the season.
Lewis & Clark finally got some offense going in the third. Junior
Emily Patton was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. She stole second and raced to third on a Ozuna single. With one out, Alvarez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Chapman starter Jillian Kelly struck out the next two batters to keep the score 2-0.
O'Leary would shut down the Panthers offense for the next three innings to keep the Pioneers in the game. She allowed just one baserunner, a two-out double in the third, across the third through fifth innings.
Lewis & Clark scored their first-ever run in an NCAA Tournament game in the fifth. Patton led off with a line drive double past the third baseman. She advanced to third on an Ozuna fly out and scored on a hard hit grounder by
Madison Scroggins that forced the second baseman to a knee. The next two batters each singled but Kelly induced a pop up to end the rally.
Chapman seemingly put the game away with a two-run sixth. With two on and two down, Lasti sent a soft fly ball to shallow right that scored pinch runner Kristy Kitabayashi from second. The Panthers added a second run on a double steal, where the Panthers drew the throw to second and the runner from third evaded the tag and dove into home plate just ahead of a second tag.
The Pioneer wouldn't go down without a fight in the seventh. Ozuna led off with a double to left-center and took third on a Scroggins ground out. Alvarez just missed a homer, as she belted a line drive to straight-away center that resulted in an RBI double. With two down and Alvarez on third, Campanella pinch hit and beat out an infield single deep in the hole at short for a 4-3 game. Senior
Pippi Jepsen came on to pinch run and took second on a wild pitch. Marglin came through with a two-strike, two-out single to right center, that easily plated Jepsen to tie the game.
Chapman had a fantastic chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh. They loaded the bases with one out on a single and back-to-back intentional walks. O'Leary bared down and induced a grounder to short that Patton fielded and threw home to get the lead runner. The next batter grounded out to
Cami Restagno at third to send the game to extras.
The Pioneers put together one final rally in the eighth. With two down and no one on, Ozuna was hit by a pitch. Scroggins followed with a hard hit single to center that bounced past the center field to score Ozuna from first and sent Scroggins all the way to third. Alvarez followed with a fly ball over the left-field wall to make it 7-4.
Chapman put the leadoff batter on with a double to the wall in left-center. O'Leary retired the next three batters on a fly out to left, a pop up to third and a ground out to third to seal the Pioneers first-ever NCAA win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With the win, the Pioneers earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory and now own the most wins in a single-season by a Pioneers team since 1989. They sit sixth all-time in school history for wins in a single-season behind only the 1985-89 volleyball teams that all won at least 33 matches.
- All three of Alvarez's RBI came in the seventh and eighth innings. She has gone 3-3 in three of her past seven contests.
- O'Leary matched her career-high for innings pitched with eight frames. She also threw eighth innings last Friday, in a 4-3 win over Pacific Lutheran University to keep their season alive.
- Restagno posted six assists and two putouts in the field on Thursday.
- The Pioneers outhit the Panthers 13-7 and left 10 runners on base.
- It was the first meeting between the two programs since 2012 and the Pioneers improved to 3-3 all-time against Chapman.
WHAT'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will play host and top-seeded Linfield on Friday at Noon in the winner's bracket. The winner will advance to Saturday's Regional Finals at Noon. The loser will play again on Friday at 5 p.m., against the winner of third-seeded Chapman and fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales (2:30 p.m. game).
