TURLOCK, Calif. (Mar. 30) - The Central Washington University softball team took on day two of the 18
th annual Tournament of Champions. The Wildcats were dismissed by Azusa Pacific 11-4 before being bitten by Hawaii Pacific 6-0 on Saturday.
"We just got outplayed in all facets of the game," CWU head coach
Mike Larabee said. "We faced a couple really good pitchers. They located really well, changed speeds and hit their spots. They shut down a very good hitting team."
The Cougars' (17-13) offense proved to be too much for the Wildcats (19-10) on Saturday morning. The Cougars scored runs in all but two innings of Saturday's contest, while banging out 15 hits as a team.
The Wildcats best offensive inning took place in the fifth.
Savannah Egbert got the Wildcats going with a leadoff walk.
Katie Kastning followed with an infield single that put runners on second and first. With one out in the inning,
Maddy Zerr had an infield single that brought home Egbert. The Wildcats trailed 6-2.
Kayla Smith drew a one out walk to load the bases.
Gracee Dwyer stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the inning. Dwyer ripped a single into center field that scored Kastning and
Keegan Wise, who pinch ran for Zerr. The Wildcats put together three runs on three hits and were within striking distance of the Cougars, trailing them 6-4.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Cougars added a run in the fifth before piling on four more in the sixth inning. The Cougars went on to take the game 11-4.
Egbert did her best to carry the Wildcat offense in their contest against the Sharks (26-17). Egbert went 2-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in the game.
Sydney Brown and Zerr were the only other Wildcats to record a hit in the game.
Lexie Strasser pitched a complete game, facing 40 batters while throwing 147 pitches. Strasser allowed just two earned runs as the Wildcats defense wasn't up to par, committing six errors against the Sharks.
"We have a very talented team," Larabee said. "We have to learn that we can't turn it off and on. We have a lot of pretty solid ball players we have to be able to come and be more consistant with our effort."
The Wildcats wrap up their California road trip with a game against Sonoma State on Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
