Cal U. softball manages 2 hits in loss to Dixie State
Most expected a pitching duel and that’s what happened Thursday.
California University’s softball team came out on the wrong end of a 1-0 loss to Dixie State in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships in Oklahoma City.
California, which pulled off a triple play in the third inning, falls into the losers’ bracket against the Adelphi-Central Missouri loser. First pitch is 3:30 p.m.
Janessa Bassett’s two-out triple in the fifth inning scored pinch-runner Kristie Johnson with the only run of the game.
Michelle Duncan pitched a two-hitter and struck out seven for Dixie State, which advances to a winners’ bracket game today against last night’s Adelphi-Central Missouri winner.
Duncan allowed only two balls hit by Cal batters to reach the outfield.
“She was ahead in the count. We went three balls to very few hitters,” said Dixie State head coach Randy Simkins. “When you do that, you put the hitters kind of on their heels a little bit. “
Alex Sagl was the hard-luck loser for Cal, allowing six hits, striking out six and walking one.
“The breaks and the opportunities that we had obviously didn’t occur for us today on the offensive side, but defensively, getting out of the jams the way we did early in the game was tremendous for us,” said Cal head coach Rick Bertagnolli. “It should have been a catalyst for us to do something offensively. I think the youngness of the team kind of showed on the offensive side.”
The Vulcans stopped a threat in the third inning by pulling off a triple play. Shortstop Josie Hartman opened the inning with a single. Bassett tried to sacrifice her to second and Cal tried unsuccessfully to get Hartman at second base. Nicole Chavez then lined a shot to right field that Kaity Finley caught and threw to first baseman Lindsay Reicoff to catch Bassett off the bag. Chavez was running on the play and was at third when the ball was caught. The throw from Reicoff to shortstop Emily Price completed the triple play.
“The cool thing I think for everybody to see – I know it was for us – was the triple-play ball,” said Bertagnolli. “The rarity of that, and the timing and situation, I thought it was going to push us over the top. Obviously, it didn’t.”
Price singled in the first inning and Hailey Wilson singled in the second inning. Wilson made it to third with two outs but Duncan struck out Courtney Sinclair to end the inning.
Duncan retired 15 of the next 16 California hitters, the lone exception was Reicoff, who reached on an error in the sixth.