Box Score RIVERSIDE, CALIF. – The Embry-Riddle softball team has found different ways to win all season long, and its opening game of the Cal Pac Tournament saw the Eagles use just one run to pull within two wins of a conference tournament championship. ERAU scored the game's only run in the bottom of the first inning, and held on for a 1-0 win over Simpson on Wednesday afternoon.
Vanessa Brink was excellent in her postseason debut, allowing just two hits to earn her first ever playoff victory. Brink struck out 12 batters and did not allow an extra-base hit for her second 1-0 shutout of Simpson this season.
Simpson got runners to second base in both the second and third innings, but Brink did not allow them to advance any further and continued to toss up zeros on the scoreboard. Brink hit a batter with one out in the seventh, but immediately rolled up a double play to end the game and record her 20th win on the season.
While the Eagles did not get the runs they were hoping for, they did drill 12 hits on Wednesday afternoon. Jaden Espinoza and Danielle Jamieson each had two hits, and positions 2-6 in the lineup each had one.
Emrby-Riddle played station in the first inning to score the game's only run. Maddie Judge and Kate Delaney each singled with one out, moved over following a ball in play, then Judge came around to score on Mikaeli Davidson's single to center field.
Embry-Riddle will now play the first game of the day on Thursday, looking to move within one victory of an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The Eagles will take on Marymount California, with first pitch from Riverside scheduled for 10 a.m.
