IRVINE, Calif. – A series was up for grabs on Tuesday in Irvine as Jessup and Concordia returned to the diamond for the final two games of their four-game set. Needing to battle back from deficits in both games, Jessup were the comeback kids on Tuesday as they took a series home with them to Northern California.
Concordia entered the week ranked No. 21 in the NFCA rankings, but a new poll was released on Tuesday and dropped the Golden Eagles to No. 24. The Golden Eagles still lead the PacWest with a record of 17-5. Jessup sits 15-8, two games back.
The Warriors were the first ones on the board in game one, thanks to a sac fly from
Aaliyah Pineda, but Concordia responded with a run in the third to tie things and then three in the fourth to pull away.
Jessup did not panic, as the fifth inning saw them chip away with a bloop single by
Sarah Giles that drove in
Madisyn Leffle. The rally continued when Pineda plated
Olivia Dominguez with her second sac fly of the day.
Down one, Jessup went to their bag of tricks. With Giles on second, she fell to the ground, drawing a throw from the CUI catcher that put Giles in a pickle. However, on third was
Maddy Ybarra, who used the distraction to race home before the third out and tie the game. An inning later, Leffle drove in
Hannah Aguilar, giving Jessup a 6-5 lead.
Jazlyn Villavicencio tossed the final three innings in relief of
Bella MacFarlane, and she picked up her fifth win after holding CUI off the board. The Golden Eagles totaled two hits and a pair of walks against Villavicencio, but with no runs scoring, Jessup held on for the 6-5 victory.
With the series now up for grabs, head coach
Brie Campbell turned to
Alexandria Himes to bring home the win. Himes tossed a complete game shutout on Monday, and while CUI did get a run off her on Tuesday, it was unearned as Himes exits Irvine with a 0.00 ERA in the series.
After CUI got their unearned run in the second Jessup responded with an unearned run of their own in the fourth as
Reagann Hoblit walked with the bases loaded. The next batter was Aguilar, who reached base on a throwing error, plating Pineda to give Jessup the lead.
Jessup held on to that 2-1 advantage for the next three innings, leading them to a victory.
The Warriors will be back home in Lincoln this weekend when they welcome Menlo to Foskett Regional Park. The game will be Jessup's annual Strikeout Cancer game. First pitch is scheduled for noon on Saturday.
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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).
