PALMDALE, Calif. - After getting blanked, 8-0, in the first game of a California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) doubleheader, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) softball squad came up with a season-high 16 runs in game two to walk away with a 16-2 victory, with both games ending after five innings via the eight-run rule.
Game 1
Ashley Adkins held Embry-Riddle (23-22, 6-12 Cal Pac) to just four hits in the opener to help Antelope Valley (14-20, 8-6 Cal Pac) pick up the win. The Pioneers broke a scoreless tie in the third when they picked up three hits to score three runs, including a two-out RBI double off the bat of Chelsea Phillips that made it 3-0.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth when Phillips struck again, following a leadoff single and a hit batter with a three-run home run to right to make it 6-0. The Pioneers then loaded the bases and picked one run on a ground out. Erika Romero then ended the game with a base-hit.
Game 2
After collecting just the four hits in game one, Embry-Riddle saw its bats come alive to the tune of 16 hits in game two as the Eagles came up with a five-inning victory of their own. ERAU started right away in the first, with senior Hannah DeLuna (Tucson, Ariz.) following a hit batter and an error with an RBI single that put the Eagles on the board before an out was recorded. Another error let two more runs come across before junior Lani Kaleikini (San Francisco, Calif.) slugged a three-run homerun to make it 6-0. Batting for the second time in the frame DeLuna capped the eight-run inning with a bases loaded single that scored a pair.
An eight-run cushion was all that sophomore Carly Carlsen (Littleton, Colo.) would need in the circle for Embry-Riddle. She pitched all five innings, surrendering just three hits, two walks, and three runs while striking out three to pick up her seventh win of the season.
After Kaleikini added another home run in the second, a solo shot, Embry-Riddle put the finishing touches on the victory with three in the fourth and four in the fifth. Freshman Zoe Streadbeck (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) stroked a two-run, bases loaded single in the fourth, while freshman Haley Basye (Tucson, Ariz.) hit a two-run home run in the fifth for the Eagles.
