2018 Softball Championship
6
Winner La Sierra (Calif.) LSU
3
Simpson (Calif.) SIMP
Winner
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU
6
Final
3
Simpson (Calif.) SIMP
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU 0 0 3 0 1 0 2 6 10 0
Simpson (Calif.) SIMP 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 4 1

W: Camacho, Sarai (1) L: Moorhead, Sydney (1) S: Hernandez, Kristen (1)

7
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU
8
Winner Simpson (Calif.) SIMP
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU
7
Final
8
Simpson (Calif.) SIMP
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
La Sierra (Calif.) LSU 2 0 3 0 0 2 0 7 8 5
Simpson (Calif.) SIMP 1 0 0 1 2 2 2 8 16 2

W: Kranz, Danielle (1) L: Froussine, Vanessa (1)

Game Recap: Softball |

Simpson Rallies to Capture Cal Pac Tournament Title


REDDING, Calif. -- On a day when top-seeded Simpson needed just one win over La Sierra to capture the California Pacific Conference Tournament championship and earn the league's automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament, it took the Red Hawks a full game and seven more innings Sunday to finally get a lead over the Golden Eagles, but it was enough to walk off a winner and hoist a trophy. The tournament championship qualifies the Red Hawks for the NAIA Opening Round for the third straight season and the fifth time overall.

GAME 2 / Simpson 8, La Sierra 7
Kayla Bailey's RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of game two on Sunday drove home the championship run and complete a comeback that will be recorded as one of the best rallies in Simpson softball history. The Red Hawks scored twice in each the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to overcome what was once a 5-1 deficit for the victory.

Madison Wright began the walk off rally with a one-out double to left field. She later scored jto tie the game at seven on a Golden Eagle error. Mazzie Davies reached on a fielder's choice, and Mia Olvera collected her fifth hit of the game with a single to set up Bailey's heroics. Olvera finished the day 5-5 with a home run, a double, and three singles.

La Sierra staked itself to an early lead in the winner-take-all final scoring twice in the top of the first inning. An Olvera RBI double cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first. La Sierra added three more runs in the third on a bases-loaded extra base hit to build a 5-1 advantage.

The Red Hawks plated an unearned run in the fourth to cut the lead to 5-2, and Olvera's two-run bomb in the fifth cut the lead to 5-4.

But La Sierra was not willing to roll over in search of its first conference title. The Golden Eagles pushed across two more runs in the sixth to build the lead back to 7-4.

Davies began the comeback in the sixth with a double and scored on Olvera's single. Rachel Esse's deep single to left plated Olvera, and the Red Hawks would enter the seventh inning trailing just 7-6 and completing the nearly improbable victory in the final stanza.

Not to be forgotten with all the offensive clutch plays was the pitching of Danielle Kranz who earned the victory in 4.2 innings of relief and allowing just two runs on three hits.

GAME 1 / La Sierra 6, Simpson 3
The Golden Eagles never trailed after scoring three runs in the third and briefly allowing Simpson to tie the game at three in the fourth inning. La Sierra scored a single run in the fifth and then a two-run home run in the sixth iced the game and forced a decisive title tilt.

Simpson managed just four hits for the game, and Wright drove in a pair of runs. Sydney Moorhead suffered her first loss of the season against a Cal Pac opponent.

SUMMARY
Simpson will learn Tuesday, May 8 where it will be seeded in the NAIA national tournament. The Red Hawks have earned berths into the NAIA national championships now five times (2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018).
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