Royals Homer Their Way Past Boxers To Sweep Twinbill
Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box Score
FULLERTON, Calif. – Hope International relied on the longball to key their way to a pair of wins as the Royals swept a softball doubleheader from Pacific Saturday at Craig Park.
Lauren Ackerson and Stephanie Froussine each homered to account for six of the Royals' eight second-inning runs en route to an 11-5 rout of the Boxers in the opener. In the nightcap, single-run innings in the fifth and sixth neutralized
Chelsey Chamberlain's (Sr., Grants Pass, Ore.) first homer of the season to edge past the Boxers 4-2.
Froussine proved a potent weapon for the Royals, going 5 for 7 in the two games with four runs batted in as Hope International, NAIA members of the Golden State Athletic Conference, improved to 5-2 on the season.
Becca Moen (So., Gresham, Ore.) and
Lauren Tuey (Sr., Redlands, Calif.) each had three hits for the Boxers as they dropped to 1-3 on the season.
GAME 1 – HOPE INTERNATIONAL 11, PACIFIC 5
Pacific picked up the opening run in the first inning when Moen singled to start the game and moved to second on an error. She later scored on a ground out by Chamberlain.
Froussine opened the Hope International second with a solo homer to left field, opening the gates for an eight-run frame. The next four batters all reached base, with Crystal Martin scoring on a bases loaded walk before Ackerson clubbed a grand slam over the left center field wall to open up the 6-1 lead. Janelle Medor later scored on an error and Froussine singled on her second at-bat of the frame to score Tori Marentis.
Pacific capitalized on an error to key a four-run third inning. Moen reached on an error with one out, allowing Tuey to double two batters later and score
Nikki King (Fr., Medical Lake, Wash.). Chamberlain singled to set the table for
Jordan Mittelsdorf (Sr., Boardman, Ore.), who went over the left field wall for a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 8-5.
The Royals closed out the game with one run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth. Froussine singled with two outs in the second to score Katie Gripp. Gripp accounted for one of the two fifth inning runs, singling to score Taylor Augino. Heather Hunt followed with a triple to score Gripp.
Gripp earned the win for the Royals in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out four in 4.1 innings of work.
Shannon Miller (So., Vancouver, Wash.) took the loss for Pacific, dropping to 0-1 on the season. She allowed five runs, four earned, on eight hits with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Froussine led Hope International by going 3 for 4 with three RBIs.
Ashley Billingsley (Sr., Gresham, Ore.) went 2 for 3 to lead Pacific.
GAME 2 – HOPE INTERNATIONAL 4, PACIFIC 2
Froussine again opened scoring for Hope International in the second game, doubling to left field to score Hunt. Pacific took two runs back in the top of the third. Moen opened the frame by doubling before Chamberlain stepped up to club her first home run of the season over the center field wall.
The two runs would be all that Pacific would get as Royals' hurler Alexis Alonzo allowed just eight hits in the complete game win with nine strikeouts.
Kristin Peterson led off the home half of the third by walking and later tied it when she plated on an Ackerson groundout. Ackerson scored the go-ahead run in the fifth when she reached on an error and later scored on a single by Hunt. Martin scored an insurance run in the sixth on a single by Liz Gonzalez.
Chloe Hanson (Fr., Trail, Ore.) took her first loss of the season for the Boxers, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in five innings of work. Moen and Tuey each had two hits to lead the Boxers while Froussine and Hunt had a pair of hits apiece for the Royals.
Pacific concludes their season-beginning California road trip on Sunday with a doubleheader at Chapman. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.
