SEATTLE - Seattle University softball (18-23, 4-5 WCC) erased an early deficit to battle back late against LMU (28-15, 5-4 WCC), but the Redhawks were halted in the seventh by the Lions, falling 7-5 at Logan Field on Sunday afternoon.
Senior Ava Sin led the team with two hits, which both went for extra bases, and three runs, a new career high for the designated hitter. Junior Karen Spadafora paced the Redhawks with two RBI on her double.
Sophomore Abbie Fales rounded out the trio of Redhawks with doubles on the day, while scoring a run and earning an RBI. Graduate Jay Ross, junior Avari Morris and freshman Aurora Zepeda all tallied hits in the contest.
Ross guided the defense with eight putouts from first base while Zepeda and senior Brooklyn Jones each led the team with three assists.
Freshman Kaia Galaviz earned the start in the circle and pitched 4.0 innings of the contest. She faced 20 batters and struck out four. Sophomore Maya Mesa pitched the remaining 3.0 innings. Mesa faced 14 batters and struck out one. She did not concede an earned run in her three frames of work.
Galaviz kicked off the contest with defensive momentum, sending down the first three batters she saw while striking out two. Ross got to first on a bunt single before Sin got on board off a LMU error, but the Redhawks could not score with a runner in scoring position.
Galaviz struck out two more in the top of the second to keep the Lions scoreless while LMU returned the favor, keeping it 0-0 after two. LMU struck first in the third, putting up four runs on six hits. Morris got on with a base hit but the Redhawks could not take advantage of getting runners on in the third.
Seattle U broke through in the bottom of the fourth as Fales scored Sin with her RBI double. Zepeda earned the RBI on her single to score Fales from second to cut the deficit in half heading into the fifth inning. LMU went back up by four, responding with two runs in the fifth. The Lions scored their final run in the sixth while the Redhawks came back within four, as Sin scored off a LMU error.
Trailing 7-3, the Redhawk defense quickly turned the Lions away, ending the top of the seventh with a double play. After senior Taylor Fitch drew a walk facing two outs, the Redhawks offense sparked as Sin doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Spadafora scored the pair with a 2 RBI double to left field to pull within two but the Lions cut off the surge to take the series behind a 7-5 series finale win.
Seattle U heads out on the road for a three game series next week at Oregon State. The Redhawks return home for their final three games, hosting Santa Clara the first weekend of May for senior weekend.
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