On Tuesday afternoon, the SFU softball team began their season off as excitingly as possible, as they travelled down to California to play Biola University. The team went into the final inning down four runs, but scored five to take an 8–7 lead before closing out the victory in the bottom half of the inning. While the teams were scheduled to play a double header, the second game was cancelled in order for the Clan to catch a plane to Australia for the team’s Australia tour.
The game began poorly for SFU, as a throwing error in the bottom of the first inning gave the opposing team a 1–0 lead. They bounced back, however, with back-to-back singles by Chelsea Hotner and Dallas Tilley bringing in a pair of runs, before Tilley scored on a passed ball to cap off a three-run second inning.
Things then took a bit of a turn south, as Biola got off to a 7–3 lead after a two-run third inning and four-run fourth. Things would stay at this score until the final inning.
In the seventh inning, the Clan made their comeback. After the leadoff hitter grounded out, seven straight SFU players got on base, without anybody hitting further than a single. Runs were scored by SFU’s Taylor Gillis, Victoria Saunders, Taylor Lundrigan, and Katherine Murnaghan, good for five runs and a 8–7 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Alia Stachoski got three consecutive ground outs to get the save, and close out the come-from-behind victory for the Clan.
Kyra Watson got the win for SFU, and is now 1–0 on the season.
Amanda Janes went 3–4 at the plate for SFU, and had two RBI’s on a two-run single in the seventh inning.
The win showed great resilience from the Clan, as they had an early start to the day with catching a 4:30 a.m flight to California. Flight delays then forced the team to arrive to the field late, and made them rush through warmups and miss their pre-game batting practice. Despite the adversity, SFU pulled off a big win to start the pre-season, and one that will surely make head coach Mike Renney happy.
“I was really pleased with our team’s compete today and pleased that we got all but two of our 18 players into the game,” said Renney to SFU Athletics, adding, “It was a tiring but successful day and I suspect our athletes will sleep well tonight on our 15-hour flight to Sydney.”
The team will now turn the focus to Australia, as they play between February 8–16 on their Australia Tour.
