Hawks earn 5-seed with Senior Day sweep
- Updated: April 23, 2017
San Diego Christian seniors on Senior Day.
2017 SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN HAWKS SOFTBALL
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE – The San Diego Christian Hawks had much to play for in their final home game against Arizona Christian.
It was Senior Day, the final GSAC games of the year, and a win would put them in the playoffs.
In game one, six early runs allowed starter Kendra Kuper (20-18) focus on outs against ACU. She gave up two runs on six hits and struck out 5 hitters for the game one win.
The six runs started in the bottom of the first inning with consecutive singles by Sam Campos, Angie Savoldi, and Shelbi Evans to load the bases. One run came in when Kuper was hit by a pitch. A single by Jojo Nicholas scored Evans, and a double by Alex Barajas drove in Tori Harris and Kuper for a 4-0 lead. SDC added two more in the second with singles by Savoldi and Jordan Neal and a 2 RBI double by Kuper to help her cause.
The two Firestorm runs scored in the fourth inning when Taylor Babbitt singled and Chelsea Havill homered to close the gap to 6-2. The Lady Hawks got a final run back when Chelsea Cantwell was hit by a pitch, sacrificed to second and scored on an error. The final score of 7-2 SDC secured that playoff spot in the GSAC postseason.
In game two, SDC struck first again, this time in the second inning. A single by Nicholas, double by Barajas, and a walk to Nicole Whitney loaded the bases. After Mayra Espitia brought in Nicholas on as sacrifice fly, pinch hitter Clarissa Valencia doubled to right center to drive in two more for a 3-0 lead.
Arizona Christian bounced back in the top of the fourth inning with 4 walks and 3 hits to score 5 runs. The big hits were a Bridget Kruck RBI double, a 2 RBI single by Cheyann Michael, and another RBI single by Anely Marcilla. The long inning chased Ariel Rasmussen from the mound, who shared the pitching duties with Kendra Kuper in game two.
The Lady Hawks struck hard after falling behind 5-3. In the fourth inning ACU gave up walks to Whitney and Cantwell and Harris singled to load the bases. Shelbi Evans then delivered the big hit of the day—a grand slam to left field retaking the lead at 7-5. The next inning Barajas led off with a homer to left field. After Espitia was hit by a pitch, Cantwell walked and Harris singled, the bases were loaded for Evans again. Her single to right drove in 2 Lady Hawks. Neal singled in another,
and Kuper’s single down the left field line brought in the fifth run of the inning for a 12-5 lead. The final run that made the 8-run rule come into play happened when Savoldi singled, advanced to second on an error, to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Canwell’s ground out. The final run scored with two outs in the sixth inning.
After the sweep of the doubleheader, SDC moved its record to 22-20 for the year and 10-14 in the GSAC conference. ACU dropped to 25-24 on the year and 7-15 in the conference. The two wins brought Kuper’s season record to 21-18. The Lady Hawks earned the No. 5 seed in the GSAC Tournament and will play No. 4 seed Hope International at 9:30 a.m. on May 2.
