RIVERSIDE, Calif.—South Dakota softball came within one out of a doubleheader sweep at Cal Baptist, but Lancer left fielder Halle Rosario hit a walk-off two-run homer in the final at bat to salvage a split. USD won the opener 2-0 before falling 7-6 to move to 14-8 on the season.
Coyote second baseman
Alyssa Fernandez had four hits during the twin bill including a solo home run in the top of the first inning of game one. It was her first home run of the season. Fernandez had two of USD's five hits in the opener.
South Dakota got another strong pitching performance from
Alexis Devers (5-3), who tossed six shutout innings to earn the win. It is the fourth start this season that Devers has held an opponent scoreless. She allowed five hits, struck out two and walked two.
Sarah Lisko pitched the seventh and got a double play from right fielder
Courtney Wilson on her way to earning her second career save.
Game two had three ties and four lead changes. Cal Baptist capitalized on an error in the fifth inning by scoring three unearned runs to take a 5-2 lead. The Coyotes came back with four runs in the sixth, highlighted by a two-out, two-run single to left by
Camille Fowler that tied the game.
Lauren Eamiguel scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to make it 6-5.
Lisko again entered in relief, this time of
Dustie Durham, who allowed six hits over five innings of work. Lisko pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning before giving up an infield single to Alley Johnson to begin the seventh. The Lancers (4-11) bunted Johnson to second, but Anise Avalo flied out weakly to third for the second out. Rosario, the Lancers' top hitter, drove the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center to walk it off. It was her second homer of the season. Rosario was 4-for-8 on the day.
Fowler finished game two with her team-leading fourth 3-hit game of the season. In addition to her game-tying single, she tripled and scored on a
Jamie Holscher double back in the third that tied the game at 1-1. Coyote third baseman
Lauren Wobken crushed her fourth home run of the season an inning later to give USD a 2-1 lead. She had three hits on the day.
Holscher, the Summit's leading hitter, was 2-for-7 with two doubles against CBU. She drove in her league-leading 25
th run and has reached base safely in 11 straight.
South Dakota continues its Spring Break trip Wednesday with a noon (PT) doubleheader against Loyola Marymount (9-7) at Smith Field in Los Angeles.
