ATHERTON, Calif. – A brief hiatus from PacWest softball came and went as the Warriors returned to their regularly scheduled programming on Saturday with a visit to Atherton. Kicking off the PacWest era of the Jessup-Menlo rivalry, the Warriors brought both games to an end, as a run differential of 24-4 secured a Saturday sweep.
Jessup is now over .500 in PacWest action as their record moves to 5-4.
Little could be done wrong in game one as Jessup totaled 17 hits in the ball game, a mark that is tied for the tenth most in program history. The Warriors turned those 17 hits into 13 runs as they put numbers on the board in five of the six innings they came up to bat.
Sarah Giles began the scoring in the first inning when she padded her home run record by hitting number 34 of her career. The scoring continued in the third, with three coming home, two via singles from
Aaliyah Pineda and
Malia Ishii. Pineda added her second RBI of the game in the fourth, making it a 6-1 lead.
Jessup tacked on three more in the fifth, and then in the sixth, they struck for four more, with the big blast being a two-run home run from
Maddy Ybarra. Ybarra ended the game going 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Neva Adams boosted her batting average in game one as she went 5-for-5, pushing her line from .230 to .288. Pineda ended the contest 3-for-4 with four RBI.
Alexandria Himes logged three innings in the circle. She allowed two runs on five hits during that time.
Bella MacFarlane is credited with the win after tossing the final three frames of the six-inning contest.
Game two was another showcase of the Jessup offense, but this time, they added pitching and defense to the fold in a 12-0 shutout of the Oaks. The Warriors wrapped up the game with nine hits and no errors.
Freshman
Jazlyn Villavicencio allowed only two hits during her five-inning showcase. The right-hander is now 2-4 on the season, with both wins being shutout starts in PacWest action.
Jessup plated a run in the first and then followed it up with a breakout eight-run second inning. The inning included five Jessup hits and two Menlo errors as the Warriors took a 9-0 lead into the bottom half of the frame. Two more would score in the third, and then the final tally came in the fifth off
Rebekah Beasley's RBI single.
Beasley, Ybarra, and Madiysn Leffle finished the game with two hits each.
Saturday brought to an end an 11-game road trip for the Warriors, as now they get to play a series of games at home at Foskett Regional Park. The homestand begins with Chaminade on Friday, as the doubleheader starts at 3 p.m.
***
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).
