SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The winning ways of the Warriors continued on Tuesday as a pair of walk-offs against the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans pushed Jessup's win streak to seven. The day began with a late blast to push game one to extra innings, and then a sixth-inning hit ended the second game of the day an inning early.
Jessup, now 16-13 overall on the season, sits at 10-4 in PacWest action.
The home run ball powered the offense for Jessup in game one, starting in the first inning when
Emma Gaytan launched a two-run shot to center. That 2-0 lead held for the first six innings until the Hilo bats woke up in the seventh with four runs on four hits.
Down two and down to their final out, Jessup put a runner on with
Olivia Dominguez's infield single. Then came the reigning PacWest Player of the Week,
Maddy Ybarra, who provided the shot of adrenaline Jessup needed with her game-tying home run to center field.
The game then went to extra innings, eventually pushing to the ninth.
Madisyn Leffle led off the inning with a single and then used her speed to swipe second base. Dominguez then laid down a bunt to move Leffle to third, but the throw to first got away, allowing Leffle to race on home and end the ballgame with a 5-4 Jessup win.
Alexandria Himes is now 5-6 on the season after tossing all nine innings. Himes allowed four runs on nine hits with a pair of walks and six punchouts.
After a 30-minute intermission, the two teams returned to the diamond with a déjà vu start as Jessup once again took a first-inning lead with a home run. This time, the blast came off the bat of
Kylie Nunes, who sent a three-run shot over the wall in right-center. The next inning saw Jessup load the bases, but this time, a home run was missed by a matter of inches as Ybarra placed one off the wall, clearing the bases and placing Ybarra on third.
A second home run of the day would not be missed in the fifth, as Gaytan rounded the bases for the second time as she clubbed her second two-run bomb of the day. The Warriors then tacked on three in the fifth, with the final blow being a
Liliana DeAnda two-run single to end the game early with Jessup on top 11-3.
Bella MacFarlane earned the victory after allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits across six innings of work. MacFarlane is now 8-3 on the season.
Jessup and Hilo will return to the field at American River College on Wednesday with a single game to conclude the series. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
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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).
