California Baptist University
Friends University (Kan.)
OUT OF THE POOL
5/18/2009 1:00:00 AM | Softball
DECATUR, Ala. ? California Baptist University entered Sunday just one win away from getting out of pool play and into bracket play for the fifth straight year. By the end of Sunday the Lancers were in again to the elite eight after an 8-0 shellacking over No. 22 Friends.
There was nothing friendly about the way the No. 1-ranked Lancers dismantled the Falcons (39-9) who ended their tournament run. CBU quickly put Friends away early with four runs in the first and broke out the bats later in the game, scoring one in the fourth and three in the sixth.
Ashley Boyd led the way, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. One of her RBIs came on a solo home run in the fourth that tied the single-season school record with 14 home runs. Just two innings later, Nikki Lowe, who went 1-for-3, hit a two run bomb to break the school single-season record with 15 home runs. Sarah Hurlbut went 2-for-3 with a run scored while Kendall Gorham went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
Tory Ferreira (22-0) was nearly perfect throwing the complete six-inning game. She tossed a no-hitter through the first 4.2 innings before the Falcons' Jenna Schroder hit a dribbler back up the middle that was just out of the reach of Briana Corral who dived to her right. Ferreira struck also out seven and walked just two.
The Lancers took advantage of three walks and a hit batter in the first inning to spark a four-run inning. Boyd led off the game by reaching base on an error before three straight walks to Lowe, Hurlbut and Sarah Strong with the last one bringing Boyd across the plate to give CBU a 1-0 lead. Meagan Silva then was hit by a pitch to score Hurlbut and Gorham then singled up the middle to drive in Strong and Nicole Shoemaker for the final two runs of the inning.
Boyd put the Lancers up 5-0 with a two-out solo shot to center in the fifth before CBU scored three more in the sixth. Corral sparked the sixth-inning run with two outs with a single to left center before Boyd singled to left center to score Ashley LaCombe, who ran for Corral, to make it 6-0. Lowe then launched a two-run home run to left center to clear the bases and put CBU in place for the run-rule.
The Lancers now will take on No. 9 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) at 11 a.m. (CST) and will play at 1:30 p.m. against either Point Loma Nazarene or Notre Dame College (Ohio).
