The itch to get back to action on the field has been there since last spring the on Saturday the Pacific softball team opened the 2021 season with a doubleheader against Saint Martin's University at home. While the Boxers were excited to get back on the field it was Saint Martin's that took the wins 10-3 and 3-0.
Game one saw the Pacific open the scoring as
Hailey Miller tallied the first RBI of the season on a single scoring
Kiana Kushiyama who was hit by a pitch earlier in the bottom of the first. Boxers tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth capitalizing on a
Sydney Sahlfeld double in the inning. Saint Martin's got on the board in the top of the fifth working the bases loaded but managed only one run as the Boxers wiggled out of the jam still holding the lead up 2-1 after five innings. Top of the sixth saw the Saints explode for seven runs and then tack on two more in the top of the seventh to lead 10-2. Down to the final three outs, the Boxers kept fighting as Miller recorded her second RBI hit of the contest but that would be the last run of the game as the Boxers fell 10-3.
In the loss, Miller went 2-4 with two RBI's, while Sahlfeld and
Marcee Nakamura each recorded two hits apiece as the Boxers has 10 hits in game one. For Sahlfeld she recorded a pair of doubles.
Allie Hancock got the start inside the circle and tossed four innings of action giving up one run on three hits, five walks, and struck out seven,
Carly Bursch, RyleePatton, and
Lindsey Greenfield each also saw action inside the circle.
Game two didn't feature as much offense as the first game as the contest had just 12 hits between the two teams. Saint Martin's took the lead in the top of the second with a pair of runs and added another run in the top of the fifth to push them to the 3-0 win. The Boxers generated base runners throughout the contest getting at least one runner on in innings one through six but were unable to scratch a run across.
The loss saw only five hits for the Boxers, as Jayden Skyes had a double, and Kushiyama,
Montana Vaught,
Jill Uyeda, and Nakamura each had a hit.
Cheyenne Datan took the loss in the circle but pitched a solid four innings giving up three runs on six hits, four walks, and struck out two, while
Nykki Wada finished the game with a scoreless three innings.
Boxers open the season 0-2 but now turn their attention to more non-conference action as they will host Warner Pacific and will look for their first wins of the season during a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday, February 27th and 28th with doubleheaders each day.
