SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – (March 25) Seattle University softball beat Saint Mary’s, 2-0, before dropping an 11-inning contest at UC Santa Barbara Sunday at the Gaucho Classic II. Carley Nance pitched a complete-game shutout and Madison Cathcart hit her NCAA-leading 17th home run of the year.
"We had a great outing to beat Saint Mary's," said Coach Geoff Hirai. "Second game, we came up short. We need to get back to work tomorrow.”
SU scored twice in the first inning and then rode Nance’s arm to victory. Nicole Bolasky singled and Ally Choate drew a walk. A Cathcart base hit drove in Bolasky for the game’s first run. Maddy Kristjanson followed with a single to center, bringing in Choate to make it 2-0.
Nance controlled the action from there. The redshirt freshman retired the final 10 batters of the game, scattering four hits. She struck out seven Gaels on her way to a complete game. Nance hasn’t allowed an earned run in 24 innings over five outings.
UCSB scored a run in the first, taking a 1-0 edge. Shianne Smith kept the Gauchos off the board for the next three innings, giving way to Andie Larkins for the fifth frame. Larkins allowed a walk in the fifth, but got out of the threat with a pair of groundouts.
Cathcart tied the game with a blast to rightfield to lead off the top of the sixth. The homer is her 17th of the season, most in the country.
The hosts earned a walk to open the bottom of the seventh, but Sara Dominguez erased the runner, cutting down an attempted steal of second base. Larkins picked up the next two outs, pushing the contest to extra innings.
A Kristjanson RBI groundout put the Redhawks ahead, 2-1, in the eighth, but the Gauchos answered with a tying score in their half of the inning. Nance recorded two groundouts to escape further damage and force a ninth frame.
In the ninth, a Dominguez RBI fielder’s choice brought Kaylee Ree to put the Redhawks back on top, 3-2. An SU error allowed a run to score in the bottom of the ninth, though.
After a scoreless trip to the plate in the 10th, Nance needed to blank the Gauchos to keep the game alive. With runners at first and second, she induced a comebacker, throwing to third, where Matriotti got the force and then threw back across the diamond for a key double play. A groundball to Cathcart at first ended the frame.
Dominguez came through once more in the 11th, singling to center to drive in Ree for a 4-3 advantage. UCSB finally tallied two runs in its at-bat, walking off with a win.
Cathcart posted two hits and two walks. Kristjanson added a pair of hits.
The Redhawks will take on UCSB twice on Monday morning to wrap up action at the tournament. First pitch is slated for 8:30 a.m.