Johnson Leads LBSU Over Wisconsin
49ers Also Blast Tennessee State, 13-0; Improve to 24-7 on the Season
March 19, 2004 SACRAMENTO, CA -- Lauren Johnson's walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Long Beach State softball team to a 5-4 victory over Wisconsin in the Capital Classic on Friday.
Wisconsin got on the board first in the top of the first inning, after Samantha Polito reached base after a Marcel Torres throwing error. Polito eventually reached second base due to the error. Two batters later, Kris Zacher hit a a single to center field to plate Polito for a 1-0 lead.
Long Beach State responded in the bottom of the inning, after Colleen Burdick led off with a single to center field. A Johnson sacrifice bunt then advanced Burdick to second base. Burdick then advanced to third base after an error by the second baseman. Arleigh Thorp then connected for her third home run of the season with a two-run blast over the right field wall to give LBSU a 2-1 lead.
The 49ers added one more run in the bottom of the third inning, courtesy of a Torres RBI single to left field that scored Thorp, and another run in the bottom of the sixth inning after a Tiffanie Wedell sacrifice fly to score Cassie Preece, to give Long Beach State a 4-1 lead after six innings of play.
Wisconsin would however strike back in the top of the seventh inning with three runs, courtesy of a Anastasia Miller three-run home run to tie the score at 4-4.
But it was Johnson's walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that gave Long Beach State the dramatic 5-4 victory. Torres collected her 10th victory of the season (10-2) after going 7.0 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and nine strikeouts. Thorp finished the game 1-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Long Beach State cruised to a 13-0 victory over Tennessee State in the second game of the day. The 49ers jumped TSU early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Burdick reached first base after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Johnson's bunt single then advanced Burdick all the way to third base. Burdick eventually scored on the next play, after Thorp reached base on a throwing error by the pitcher. Roxanne Staniorski's RBI single plated Jamie Farnworth to give LBSU a 2-0 lead after an inning.
The 49ers added five more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Both Wedell and Johnson connected for RBI doubles in the inning. LBSU poured on six more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Arleigh Thorp connected for a grand slam (her second home run of the day), scoring, Johnson, Burdick, and Melanie McCauley. The game was called after the fifth inning.
Meredith Cervenka and Melissa Backstrom combined to pitch a one-hitter. Cervenka collected the victory, improving her overall mark to 9-3, after 4.0 innings of work.
The 13-0 score was the third largest shutout victory in school history.
Long Beach State (24-7) resumes tournament play on Saturday versus Nevada at 12:30 p.m. and Iowa at 3:00 p.m. |
