LINCOLN, Calif. – After 11 games, the Warriors finally made their first appearance at Foskett Regional Park on Friday, as Simpson came to town for a duo of games. Thanks to a series of Simpson errors, the Warriors pulled away in game one, and then Jessup made things interesting in the finale, as a wild finish ultimately forced the day into a split.
Simpson's defense did their part to help Jessup put runs on the board early. The first run of the game came on a
Maddy Ybarra ground ball to first base where, instead of taking the easy out at first, they threw to home to get the speedy
Madisyn Leffle, who beat the tag to put Jessup on the board. The Warriors then scored a second run when a dropped fly ball allowed Ybarra to score.
Four more runs came home in the second, as Simpson committed three more errors.
Neva Adams was the beneficiary of an error as she reached, allowing
Hannah Dominguez to score. Adams later scored along with Ybarra on Simpson's second dropped fly ball, this one hit by
Sarah Giles.
Giles would hit another fly ball later in the game that would not be dropped, as instead, it would clank off the wall, narrowly missing a home run. The double drove in Ybarra and extended Giles' hitting streak to 14 games.
Alexandria Himes earned the win in game one, moving her record to 2-3 on the season. Himes tossed six innings, during which she allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits with six strikeouts.
Simpson settled down their gloves in game two, as this time, it was their bats that did the talking. Shortstop Brianna Lopez-Cortez made the bulk of the noise, finishing the game 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI.
Jessup responded to a first-inning Simpson run with a run of their own, as Leffle lined a ball down the left field line that hopped past the left fielder, allowing the speedster to race around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. But then Simpson responded with six unanswered runs.
The Warriors would get two runs back in the sixth on an RBI double from Ybarra, which later saw her score on a wild pitch. Following a Simpson run in the top of the seventh, Jessup entered the final inning needing to score five to force extra innings.
Jessup was up for the task. The Warriors worked to load the bases, and Ybarra delivered again, placing one off the center field wall that plated two. Now down three, the Warriors loaded the bases, bringing up
Liliana DeAnda in the form of the winning run. DeAnda smoked a ball to third base that the third baseman was unable to make a play on, allowing Giles to score, but Ybarra overran the bag at third and was then tagged out to end the game.
Following all of the excitement, the loss went to
Bella MacFarlane, her first of the season, following four innings of work. Himes entered in relief to pitch the final three.
Ybarra finished game two 2-for-3 with three RBI. Giles went 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, ending the hitting streak she began last year at the NAIA World Series.
Jessup will head back on the road next week as they visit Biola on Tuesday and Wednesday for a four-game series. The road trip then makes its way to Vanguard over the weekend.
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Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. 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 (Instagram & X).
