California Baptist University
Vanguard University (Calif.)
BOYER BOUYS SPLIT
4/24/2007 7:00:00 AM | Softball
COSTA MESA, Calif. --- Errors came back to haunt both teams, as the NAIA's No. 8-ranked Vanguard forced a doubleheader split against No. 1 California Baptist Tuesday afternoon.
The Lions made a costly error in the eighth inning of game one, which the Lancers won by a final tally of 3-0, but then were beneficiaries of a California Baptist throwing miscue in game 2, a 2-1 win for Vanguard.
The loss is just CBU's second in GSAC play this season, as the Lancers stand at 47-3, 20-2 heading to the last regular-season doubleheader this Saturday at Concordia. California Baptist has already wrapped up its fourth consecutive GSAC championship and will host the NAIA Region II Playoffs (May 8-10) for the fourth year in a row.
Vanguard (39-10, 17-5) is a game ahead of No. 4-ranked Point Loma Nazarene, and also closes out the season on Saturday, with a doubleheader at Point Loma.
Candice Thomas (24-1) logged 8 scoreless innings and allowed just 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4 in the opener, as the Lancers handed defending NAIA Pitcher of the Week Jennifer Olvera (18-3) the loss.
Olvera was victimized by an eighth-inning error from Rachel Bomgren that allowed the decisive run to cross the plate. The Lancers started the inning with Shawna Rainwater on second base, due to the International Tie-Breaker, and loaded the bases after Keeley Johnson reached on an intended sacrifice bunt and moved to second on Kelly Maconachy's infield single.
Bomgren successfully handled Sara Goforth's grounder to retire Rainwater at the plate, but was unable to throw out Johnson at the plate on the next play, a grounder by Chantal Millard. Nikki Lowe followed up with a big 2-run double to make the final score 3-0 and hand Olvera the loss despite allowing no earned runs (3 unearned) on 6 hits and no walks while striking out 11 Lancers.
Maconachy's 2-out walk in the third inning of game 2 set the table for Goforth's RBI double, but that was the last time CBU would score in the game, as Kelsey Boyer slammed the door for the remainder of her 6 innings for the win to improve to 10-1.
Boyer's run support all came in the bottom of the third, when Noelle Navarette notched the first of 3 consecutive 2-out singles that turned the game around. April Glenn's single plated Navarette, and Bomgren came around to score an unearned run on a miscue from Maconachy to make the final score 2-1.
Amy Thomas was hit with the loss, as she falls to 23-2 on the year. She allowed 2 runs (one earned) on 4 hits and one walk while striking out 6 on the afternoon. Boyer earned the win with 3 hits and one earned run in 6 innings of work, as she issued one free pass and also struck out 6. Olvera came on to pitch the seventh, picking up her first save of the year.
