ATHERTON, Calif. - The Warrior's softball team hit the road for the final time this season to take on conference foe Menlo College. The Oaks and Warriors went into the series knotted in second place of conference standings, and after the Saturday series they remain locked after splitting with Menlo taking game one 7-1 and dropping the second contest 5-1.
GAME 1
The Warriors were led by ace
Shelbi Graifman on the mound to take on the Oaks in the first game of the doubleheader. Graifman completed her 16th start collecting her 10th win for the season holding the Oaks to one run on three hits with 8 strikeouts.
Offensively the Warriors had a season-high 16 hits collectively, leaving no frame without a hit in game one. The line-up reflected multiple hits across the board with
Haley Stevenson leading going 2-2,
Kyla Cisneros and Graifman 3-4 and
Clarissa Blaquera 2-4.
In the top of the second the Warriors went on a two-out rally, Stevenson bringing in the first run of the game off a double down the right field line.
Stephanie Scott kept things going with a single, followed by another double, this time by
Tessa Harris to bring in a pair of runs to go up 3-0 over the Oaks.
Another pair of double would follow in the next frame with Cisneros starting things off and Graifman following her lead with the RBI scoring Cisneros. Graifman would connect again in the top of the fifth to be the first of back-to-back home runs with
Taya Ruiz tagging on her own direct hit.
The power hitters would add one more run in the final inning to take game one 7-1, looking to continue the momentum with game two.
GAME 2
While not silent, the Warriors were not able to continue their offensive dominance with just 5 hits in game two in comparison to the season-record 16 in the previous game.
Alli Medina would get the first hit of the game in the top of the second, but unable to get on the board as the inning expired with her on first.
One inning would seal the win for the Oaks as they brought in five runs in the fifth inning against starting freshman
Mariah Gonzalez. With two outs the Oaks sent one over the fence for a 3-run homer to join their solo run already achieved that inning, and adding one more before the inning retired for a 5-0 lead.
The Warriors would look to answer back in the following frame with Harris leading things off with a single and making her way around to score off a single by Graifman for the lone run of the game.
Heading into their final two series of the season, the Warriors will take a week off before hosting conference champions, Vanguard University on Friday, April 21 and Biola University on Saturday, April 22. The Warriors still tied for second with Menlo College continue to work hard toward a top five spot to punch their ticket to the GSAC tournament.
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William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).
