Vulcans one win from NCAA championships
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CALIFORNIA – With Alex Sagl in the circle, the only thing California University’s softball team needs is a little bit of offense.
That’s what the Vulcans got Friday afternoon when they scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, as Sagl allowed just five hits to defeat West Virginia Wesleyan, 3-2, in Game 1 of a best-of-3 NCAA Atlantic Super Regional series at Lilley Field.
The two teams will resume the series today at 2:30 p.m. If WVW wins, the teams will play a deciding game at 5 p.m. The winner of the series will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.
California (40-11), which is ranked 21st in the country, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first behind five singles. Sophomore right fielder Kaity Finley, freshman shorstop Emily Price and junior third baseman Natalya Smarra singled to load the bases before Jacquelyn Fowler and Hailey Wilson delivered back-to-back RBI singles.
The Vulcans left the bases loaded, which became an issue in the third inning when the Bobcats (38-9) cut the deficit to a run with a solo home run by right fielder Morgan Bruce. They collected back-to-back singles with one out, but Sagl pitched out of the jam.
California, which stranded nine baserunners, answered when Fowler reached on a single and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore catcher Megan Jahoda then collected a two-out, RBI single down the left-field line for a 3-1 lead.
West Virginia Wesleyan stranded a runner on third base in the fifth inning and opened the seventh inning with a home run by first baseman Krista Waggoner. The next batter reached on a hit-by-pitch, but was thrown out at second by Smarra on an attempted sacrifice bunt. The Bobcats had runners on first and second, but Sagl induced a pop-up and a line-out to end the game.
Fowler went 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI, while Finley and Price both had two of the Vulcans’ 11 hits.
Sagl, a junior from Oakville, Ont., improved to 26-4 this year and became the first pitcher since Cal All-American Danielle Penner in 1998 to eclipse 25 wins in a season. She struck out three, did not walk a batter and needed just 89 pitches for the complete game.