LOS ANGELES ? The CSUB softball team picked up its first win of the season with an epic comeback, scoring five runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Seattle University 8-7 in game two of the LMU Invitational at Smith Field in Los Angeles.
CSUB was leading host LMU 2-0 in the second inning of the next game when it was halted due to rain. That game will be continued at 8 a.m. Saturday.
It seemed fate had left the Roadrunners for dead against Seattle. They had a runner on first with two outs in the seventh, trailing 7-3. But Redhawk centerfielder Katie Antich dropped Jaimey Kleinsmith's (Santa Maria/College of the Sequoias) fly ball to keep CSUB on life support.
An RBI single by Kristen Archuleta (Hollister/San Benito HS) and an infield hit by Sammy Rodriguez (Salinas HS) brought junior designated player Danielle Lyman (Moreno Valley/Canyon Springs HS) to the plate. Lyman crushed Kelsey Reynolds' 0-1 offering to deep left fielder for a three-run, walk-off home run. It was Lyman's first collegiate home run.
It didn't seem as if the Roadrunners would need such heroics in the early going. In the bottom of the first inning, leadoff singles by Kelli Bailey (Rodeo/John Swett HS) and Chelsey Bell (Ridgecrest/Burroughs HS) set the table for freshman first baseman Justeen Maeva (Mira Mesa HS), who hit her first collegiate home run to stake CSUB to a 3-0 lead.
Seattle crawled back into the game with a solo home run by Lisa Hill in the second and a two-run shot by Lauren Berin in the fourth. Berin added another home run in the sixth inning before a pinch hit, RBI single by Cassie Cueto in the top of the seventh set the stage for the CSUB comeback.
Lyman finished the day 2-for-3 with three RBI. Bailey and Rodriguez each went 3-for-4 with a run scored apiece.
After finishing the game against LMU, the Roadrunners will play Seattle University again at noon Saturday. They will also play the University of Illinois-Chicago at 2 p.m.
Play concludes for CSUB at the LMU Invitational with a second game against UIC Sunday at noon.
TEAMS
| 123
| 456
| 7
| --
| R
| H
| E
|
Seattle Univ. (1-1)
| 011
| 202
| 1
| --
| 7
| 10
| 2
|
'Runners (1-4)
| 300
| 000
| 5
| --
| 8
| 11
| 1
|
Two outs, none on when winning run scored
Reynolds and Amador; Johnson, Truan (7) and Kleinsmith. WP ? Shawna Truan (1-1). LP ? Kelsey Reynolds (0-1).
2B ? Peterson (S). HR ? Maeva (B), Lyman (B), Hill (S), Berin (S) 2.
