Generous Northridge Finally Falls

On a day when the Cal State Northridge softball team lived on the edge, it finally fell off.

Playing two games in the Cal State Fullerton tournament Friday, the Matadors allowed the opponent’s leadoff batter on base eight times and retired the side in order only twice.

The propensity to allow runners did not hurt the Matadors in their morning game, as they squeaked out a 2-1 victory over Washington. But South Carolina was able to capitalize in the afternoon, defeating Northridge, 2-1, to end the Matadors’ 16-game winning streak and eliminate them from the tournament.

“If you keep putting their leadoff hitter on every inning, it’s eventually going to hurt you,” said a frustrated Janet Sherman, the Matador coach. “We just keep making the same mistakes over and over.”

After Scia Maumausolo drove home Jennifer Richardson in the first inning against eighth-ranked South Carolina (22-4), Chelo Lopez walked. Then Gamecock pitcher Trinity Johnson retired 12 consecutive Matadors.

“We didn’t play with the intensity we needed to in order to win,” Sherman said. “[Johnson] threw very well, but our hitters didn’t adjust.”

South Carolina took a 1-0 lead when Northridge left fielder Shelby Wilcox dropped Sky Brown’s two-out fly ball in left-center field. Chanda Lee, who led off the inning with a single and went to second on a sacrifice, scored from second on the error.

The Gamecocks scored the game-winning run in the fourth when Northridge pitcher Tara Glaister (12-3) walked Beth Collett to open the inning and April Farr singled her home four batters later.

Against third-ranked Washington (25-5), Lopez provided the Matadors with all the offense they needed by hitting a 3-2 pitch over the center-field fence for a two-run homer with two out in the bottom of the first.

It was Lopez’s sixth home run of the season.

Starting pitcher Richardson (14-2) and Glaister, who relieved in the fifth, made the runs stand, combining to strike out eight and walk two.