Santa Clara Rallies Late for 3-2 Win

Friday, February 18

San Diego, Calif.

11:00 AM

University of Utah

Santa Clara (Campbell/Cartier Tournament)

2/18/2005 12:00 AM | Softball

Feb. 18, 2005

Box Score

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Santa Clara rallied with runs in each the seventh and eighth innings to top the University of Utah softball team, 3-2, here in San Diego, Calif., at the Campbell/Cartier Tournament.

Utah falls to 5-5 for the year while SCU's mark ups to 6-5. Utah chalks up the loss despite scattering 10 hits, to SCU's five, and leaving 10 batters on base.

Ivette Hernandez hit her fifth homer of the year in the fifth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. But, Santa Clara belted a home run of its own in the bottom of the seventh and scored the game-winning run in the eighth on a suicide squeeze.

Lindsie Nielsen takes the hard-luck loss and falls to 3-3 on the year. She struck out three Bronco batters in allowing five hits and three runs. Only two of the runs were earned.

Bryanne Durrence was 2-for-3 and Diana Phillips was 2-for-4, the only Utes with multi-hit outings. Hernandez was 1-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.

Liz Courter got the win in mowing down three Ute batters.

Utah got on the board first in the second inning. Sharee Fonoti hit a blooper between first and second. And, with some heads-up base running, Lynsey Wall caught the Bronco defense napping and scored from second.

Hernandez homered in the fourth inning to give Utah the 2-1 lead but a Maggie Godfrey's round-tripper in the seventh knotted the game at two.

In this tournament, the international tie-breaker (where every half inning starts with a runner on second) went into effect in the first extra inning. While Utah could only advance its runner to third in the top of the eighth, SCU plated its runner.

The Broncos moved Courter to third when Jenny Brown grounded out to second. Courter would later score when Vanessa Werner executed a suicide squeeze. Devina Quintero opted to throw home on Werner's bunt but Courter slid under the tag to nab the come-from-behind win.