One-Hitter for Evans, 9-0 Loss for Northridge

Beyond the fence in center field, sections of a new scoreboard for the Cal State Fullerton softball field were being lowered into place by crane.

Arizona’s Nancy Evans could have used those sections a bit sooner because the old scoreboard had no space for hits.

“I wasn’t too sure if (Cal State Northridge) had any hits or not,” said the former Hoover High pitcher who threw a one-hitter to beat the Matadors, 9-0, in a pool play game of the Fullerton tournament Friday afternoon.

It was Arizona’s second one-hitter against Northridge in as many meetings. Arizona defeated Northridge, 4-0, in the championship game of the Women’s College World Series last year on Susie Parra’s gem.

Evans (15-1) allowed only a seventh-inning single by Scia Maumausolo, along with a hit batter and an error.

For Northridge Coach Janet Sherman, a fancy scoreboard would have only made things worse against top-ranked Arizona (31-1).

“We played awful,” Sherman said. “We choked. We have to play as good as we are and we didn’t.”

Sixth-ranked Northridge (21-8) defeated UC Santa Barbara, 9-0, in an earlier game and finished pool play 2-1. The Matadors begin bracket play today at 1 p.m. against Kansas.

Northridge committed five errors against Arizona, which contributed to a hefty amount of damage against pitcher Kathy Blake-Small (9-4), who allowed 10 hits.

Two errors by second baseman Lee Ann Taylor in the third inning resulted in the Wildcats’ second run. Then Arizona shortstop Laura Espinoza hit a two-run home run, her 20th, to put the Wildcats up, 4-0.

In the fourth, the mishaps multiplied, as two errors and a passed ball contributed to another Wildcat run.

Arizona put the game away in the seventh when Jenny Dalton’s line drive sent Northridge center fielder Jennifer Richardson scrambling back. The ball cleared the portable fence, but Richardson didn’t. She fell into it and knocked down most of the fence in center.

The next batter, Espinoza, who hit an NCAA-record 30 home runs last season, hit her second homer of the game.

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Against Santa Barbara, Northridge scored six runs in the fifth for a 9-0 lead.

Christina Baioa (7-1) allowed five hits.

Maumausolo went three for four with two runs batted in and Taylor had two hits.