Tuesday, May 24
Gulf Shores, AL
10:30 AM
California Baptist University
0
vs
1
Oregon Tech
THE ROAD LESS TAKEN
5/25/2011 4:07:00 AM | Softball
GULF SHORES, Ala. --- After taking care of what seemed to be the biggest challenges of the tournament yesterday, No. 1 CBU ran into a road block Tuesday that sent them the long way around to the NAIA title game.
CBU opened the day facing the red hot No. 18 Oregon Tech Owls in the semifinals of the winners bracket and the Cinderella story continued for the Owls as Jackie Imhof outdueled Emma Holden for a 1-0 victory. The Lancers rebounded however and fought their way into a championship rematch with Oregon Tech, defeating No. 6 Belhaven (Miss.) 4-1 later in the day.
“Tory Ferreira was huge for us in that late game,” said Head Coach Mike Smith. “She has been our other No. 1 all year. She's a former National Pitcher of the Year and she had this in her. We really needed.”
Ferreira tossed 5.2 innings against Belhaven, giving up just three hits and one run to get the win. She moves to 19-2 on the year.
Ferreira exited with a 3-1 lead in the second after giving up a run on a ball laced up the middle by Annalee Carr. With a runner on second and two outs Smith inserted Emma Holden, who proceeded to load the bases with a walk and hit batter. The Lancers' ace came right back, though, striking out Rachel Wright for the final out of the inning. She would work a 1-2-3 final frame to send the Lancers to the championship game tomorrow.
“I had good movement and was hitting my spots a lot better than I was yesterday,” said Ferreira, who lasted just 1.1 innings against Cal State San Marcos on Monday. “As a team we knew we could win this game and didn't let the pressure get to us.”
Taking some of that pressure off was the Lancer bats, which finally came to life against Sara Burns and the Blazers. CBU had just four runs in three bracket play games coming into the matchup with Belhaven.
Sloan McHann, yesterday's hero with her walk-off home run against CSUSM, got CBU on the board first with a solo-shot in the fourth inning. Lindsay Henry and April Vasquez would follow in the sixth with a pair of solo home runs, each players' first of the tournament.
The Lancers added one more in the seventh on an error by the Blazers and then Holden closed the door with her third save of the season.
“We finally started laying off the rise ball and (Burns) had to bring the ball down into the zone,” said Smith. “That's when we jumped on her and were finally able to get some runs.”
The Lancers lost the opener on Tuesday in heartbreaking fashion as the two hottest pitchers in the tournament squared off. Oregon Tech's Jackie Imhof matched Holden pitch for pitch, with both aces throwing one-hitters.
The one given up by Holden, though, was a costly one as Kayde Schaefer took her deep with a homer in the sixth inning.
The Owls number nine hitter had a 2-2 count when Holden seemed to fire a ball right in on the upper part of the zone. Schaefer started for the dugout, but when the home plate umpire did not ring her up, she stepped back into the batters box and ripped the next pitch over the left field fence.
It was all the offense either team could muster as Imhof continued her improbable run in this tournament, carrying the No. 18-ranked Owls to the finals.
For Holden it was just her second loss of the season, first of the tournament as she moved to 34-2. So far at the national tournament Holden has thrown 32 innings, giving up just three hits and one run.
CBU will now face Oregon Tech Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. (CDT), needing to win two straight games for the title.
“Now that we've seen Imhof we know what she throws and hopefully we can stay disciplined and get to her,” said Smith. “She is hot just like Emma is right now so it's going to be a great battle. We just have to bring the bats and get on the board this time.”
After losing in the semifinals last season, the Lancers are back to the championship game for the second time in three years. With the split the Lancers move to 65-4 on the year, setting a new program mark for victories
CBU opened the day facing the red hot No. 18 Oregon Tech Owls in the semifinals of the winners bracket and the Cinderella story continued for the Owls as Jackie Imhof outdueled Emma Holden for a 1-0 victory. The Lancers rebounded however and fought their way into a championship rematch with Oregon Tech, defeating No. 6 Belhaven (Miss.) 4-1 later in the day.
“Tory Ferreira was huge for us in that late game,” said Head Coach Mike Smith. “She has been our other No. 1 all year. She's a former National Pitcher of the Year and she had this in her. We really needed.”
Ferreira tossed 5.2 innings against Belhaven, giving up just three hits and one run to get the win. She moves to 19-2 on the year.
Ferreira exited with a 3-1 lead in the second after giving up a run on a ball laced up the middle by Annalee Carr. With a runner on second and two outs Smith inserted Emma Holden, who proceeded to load the bases with a walk and hit batter. The Lancers' ace came right back, though, striking out Rachel Wright for the final out of the inning. She would work a 1-2-3 final frame to send the Lancers to the championship game tomorrow.
“I had good movement and was hitting my spots a lot better than I was yesterday,” said Ferreira, who lasted just 1.1 innings against Cal State San Marcos on Monday. “As a team we knew we could win this game and didn't let the pressure get to us.”
Taking some of that pressure off was the Lancer bats, which finally came to life against Sara Burns and the Blazers. CBU had just four runs in three bracket play games coming into the matchup with Belhaven.
Sloan McHann, yesterday's hero with her walk-off home run against CSUSM, got CBU on the board first with a solo-shot in the fourth inning. Lindsay Henry and April Vasquez would follow in the sixth with a pair of solo home runs, each players' first of the tournament.
The Lancers added one more in the seventh on an error by the Blazers and then Holden closed the door with her third save of the season.
“We finally started laying off the rise ball and (Burns) had to bring the ball down into the zone,” said Smith. “That's when we jumped on her and were finally able to get some runs.”
The Lancers lost the opener on Tuesday in heartbreaking fashion as the two hottest pitchers in the tournament squared off. Oregon Tech's Jackie Imhof matched Holden pitch for pitch, with both aces throwing one-hitters.
The one given up by Holden, though, was a costly one as Kayde Schaefer took her deep with a homer in the sixth inning.
The Owls number nine hitter had a 2-2 count when Holden seemed to fire a ball right in on the upper part of the zone. Schaefer started for the dugout, but when the home plate umpire did not ring her up, she stepped back into the batters box and ripped the next pitch over the left field fence.
It was all the offense either team could muster as Imhof continued her improbable run in this tournament, carrying the No. 18-ranked Owls to the finals.
For Holden it was just her second loss of the season, first of the tournament as she moved to 34-2. So far at the national tournament Holden has thrown 32 innings, giving up just three hits and one run.
CBU will now face Oregon Tech Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. (CDT), needing to win two straight games for the title.
“Now that we've seen Imhof we know what she throws and hopefully we can stay disciplined and get to her,” said Smith. “She is hot just like Emma is right now so it's going to be a great battle. We just have to bring the bats and get on the board this time.”
After losing in the semifinals last season, the Lancers are back to the championship game for the second time in three years. With the split the Lancers move to 65-4 on the year, setting a new program mark for victories
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