Game one:
Sophomore pitcher Brooke Larsen does it all in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader against the San Francisco Gators.
Larsen is a representative of the 2019 Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Player of the Year Watch List. She proved the hype real by throwing a complete-game shutout allowing only one hit and walking two.
Larsen also got the job done at the plate, collecting an RBI single and a double.
The Wildcats struggled to score early on due to aggressive base running errors.
The Wildcats stayed aggressive when a two-out double by sophomore Reilani Peleti scored senior Claire Wayne in the fourth inning. Larsen’s single scored Peleti’s pinch runner, Annie Weiss, and the Wildcats lead 2-0.
Brooke Larsen with an RBI single. Wildcats score twice in the fourth inning. 2-0 Wildcats. @theorion_sports #theorion pic.twitter.com/LiM9B0w1nF
— Brandon Downs (@downsbrandon2) February 10, 2019
The Wildcats batted through the lineup in the fifth inning when leadoff hitter Kristin Worley started the rally with a bunt single. Worley scored an unearned run when the Gators shortstop committed a throwing error attempting to get Worley out at third base.
Then third baseman Bailey Akins stepped up to bat with two runners on and hit an opposite field home run to right field, breaking the score open to 6-0.
The Wildcats added one run the sixth inning before Larsen threw a perfect seventh inning to close out the Gators in game three of the four-game series.
Game two:
Game two of Sunday’s doubleheader was a nail biter that did not have any scoring until the sixth inning.
The game was tied at zero heading into the bottom of the sixth inning when the Wildcats crossed the plate twice with back-to-back home runs from catcher Claire Wayne and first baseman Reilani Peleti.
Game two’s shutout took three Wildcat pitchers, Naomi Monahan, Sam Mulock, and Amanda Flores.
Monahan started the game throwing three innings allowing two hits and walking two Gators.
Mulock found herself in trouble in every inning. She worked through trouble in the fourth and fifth inning when the Gators had runners on third base in both innings.
In the sixth inning, Mulock got two quick outs before the Gators put runners on every base. Flores replaced Mulock to get a Gators hitter to fly out to right field.
Flores walked two batters in the seventh inning but shut down the Gators to complete a doubleheader shutout Sunday.
The Wildcats swept the four-game series against the Gators and look to continue their success with a doubleheader against Humbolt State starting Friday, Feb. 15 in Chico.
Brandon Downs can be reached at [email protected] or @downsbrandon2 on Twitter.
