April 4, 2011

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

LOS ANGELES - LMU banged out a combined 30 hits to sweep visiting Simon Fraser 9-3 and 15-2 in a Monday doubleheader at Smith Field. The Lions (16-19) got it done in the first game with four home runs, then collected 14 singles and two doubles to set a season-high for hits and runs to extend their home winning streak to seven games with game two's run-rule victory over the Clan (6-12).

Coming off three straight losses to close out the weekend, LMU quickly got itself back on track with a hitting clinic at Smith Field. Sophomore Danielle Smith led the way with six hits in the doubleheader, including her first career four-hit game, and junior Sam Fischer collected five hits and drove in four runs to tie for seventh place on LMU's career RBI list. Junior Kelly Sarginson registered five RBI on the day, including her ninth home run of the season to climb into a tie for sixth place on the LMU career list with 22. Also homering for the Lions were junior Stephanie Hughes and freshmen Meghan Harman and Kathryn Dutton in support of the Lion pitchers, who allowed just 10 hits on the day.

LMU 9, Simon Fraser 3
Sarginson, Harman, and Dutton all homered in a six-run third inning as LMU sent 11 batters to the plate to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead as LMU snapped a three-game losing streak. Sophomore Molly Medeiros (8-5) picked up her eighth win of the season with her eighth complete game. She allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking two.

Simon Fraser jumped on top in the third on Lauren Mew's two-run single but the Lions answered in emphatic fashion in the bottom of the frame. Smith led off the inning with a bunt single and was sacrificed over to second. After Fischer blooped a single to center, Sarginson launched the first pitch she saw over the left-centerfield fence to put the Lions on top, 3-2. The merry-go-round would not end there, though, as sophomore Olivia Alvarez walked before Harman and Dutton made it back-to-back jacks with homers to virtually the same spot.

Dutton and junior Kylie Ahlo would add RBI singles in the fourth and junior Stephanie Hughes added her second homer of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, to complete the Lion scoring.

LMU banged out 14 hits, one off its season-high, with six different players registering multiple hits. Smith registered her team-leading 14th multi-hit game with a 2-for-5 effort while Sarginson had two hits, walked once, and drove in three. Harman and Dutton were each 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Ahlo and Fischer also had two hits while Alvarez reached on three walks. Missing out in the hit attack was senior Jennifer Nayudu, who saw her hitting streak snapped at seven games after going 0-for-2 with a walk.

Kelsey Hawkins (1-5) was tagged for the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits in three innings. Carly LePoutre and Lauren Mew each had two hits at the top of the Clan order.

LMU 15, Simon Fraser 2 (5 inn.)
Whereas game one was all about the long-ball, the Lions set a new season high for hits in game two, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead with a four-run first and putting the game out of reach with a 10-run fourth. The 15 runs topped the previous season-high of 14, achieved on March 23 against Canisius, and are tied for the second-most in a single-game in school history. They are the most runs by the Lions since putting up 15 against North Dakota on March 8, 2008. Meanwhile, the 16 hits are tied for the fifth-most in a single game and are the most by the program since collecting 17 against Penn State on April 22, 2007.

LMU wasted no time in getting started as the first four batters of the game all collected hits, with Fischer and Sarginson each driving in runs with RBI singles. Harman also added a run-scoring single and a wild pitch brought home LMU's fourth run. The Lions would add a run on a passed ball in the third but the game would truly break open in the fourth.

LMU sent 14 batters to the plate in the fourth as it equaled its single-inning high with 10 runs on nine hits. Seven singles accounted for the first seven runs as RBI singles by Fischer and Harman pushed across the first two runs and freshman Samantha Nelson added an RBI groundout. Ahlo beat out a grounder to short for an RBI infield single that kept the inning alive, leading to six consecutive run-scoring base hits. Nayudu, Smith, and junior Brittany Pereda each tacked on additional runs with singles before Fischer delivered the first extra-base hit of the inning, driving in two with a double off the base of the centerfield wall. Sarginson's bloop single made it 15-2.

Sophomore Dana Waldusky carried a no-hitter into the fourth before giving up a two-run opposite-field shot to former Lion Brittany Mayers. She would leave after LMU's 10-run fourth, gaining the win to improve to 5-5 on the season with a one-hitter. Freshman Stevie Goldstein finished things up with a two-hit fifth inning.

Smith tied the school record by going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, becoming the second Lion this season with a four-hit game. Fischer finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored, leaving her on 98 career RBI and two shy of becoming the seventh player in school history to reach 100. Ahlo was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI and now assumes the longest current hit streak by a Lion, standing at eight games.

Cara Lukawesky (5-5) was tagged with the loss, giving up 12 runs (11 earned) on 12 hits in four innings.

The Lions will visit UCLA in a make-up game on Wednesday at 2 p.m. before commencing Pacific Coast Softball Conference play against Saint Mary's over the weekend. The Lions and Gales will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, starting at noon each day.

- GO LIONS -