IRVINE, Calif. – The quest for a repeat officially began on Monday as the Warriors took on Arizona Christian on day one of the GSAC Tournament. With the winner advancing in the winner's bracket to face Vanguard tomorrow, a slow start hurt Jessup as they will now battle for their season in 24 hours.
ACU, winners of this game by the final of 3-1, advance to take on a Vanguard squad that took down top-seeded Hope International 1-0 to start the day.
Jessup turned to
Serena Navarrete as the starter on Monday. Coming off a dominant showing last week against Menlo, recording two saves in the doubleheader, Navarrete got off to a slow start as the Firestorm tacked on enough run-support in the first to ultimately bring home the victory.
Back-to-back base hits to start the day for the Firestorm set up a two run inning, as the first run crossed home off a groundout. The third single of the frame plated the second run, putting ACU up 2-0.
It took nine batters for the Warriors to finally get on base as
Olivia Dominguez singled with two out in the third. But she would be stranded at first as a strikeout got ACU's Savannah Smith out of the inning.
Smith would strike out eight in a complete game performance.
After three innings of seemingly no offense, Jessup finally got the break they needed in the fourth when
Aaliyah Pineda hit a high fly ball into the sunny Irvine skies. With the ball lost in the sun, ACU's right fielder could not get a glove on the ball as Pineda officially reached third on a triple, scoring
Sarah Giles, who had reached base on the Warriors' first walk of the day.
The lucky break ended up being the only run the Warriors would score, but not before the Firestorm tacked on an insurance run in the fifth.
Jessup would not quit, even with a lack of offense, as the seventh inning saw them put runners on the corners with two away. Hoping to extend the inning and bring up the top of the order, Dominguez struck out swinging to end the game.
Navarrete gets handed the loss, her second, after she allowed two runs on three hits over two innings of work.
Katie Blankenheim tossed the final four frames, allowing one run on four hits.
The loss now sends the Warriors to the loser's bracket, setting up the first elimination contest of the week tomorrow against Hope International. The Royals took three of four against the Warriors in the regular season and were the regular season champions of the GSAC.
While the loser of tomorrow's game will see their season come to an end, barring an at-large bid to the NAIA Opening Round, the winner will advance to take on the loser of the ACU/Vanguard game tomorrow night.
First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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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 Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).
