TUCSON, Ariz. (Feb. 18) – The Vulcans opened the season with a pair of run-rule losses on Friday while competing at the D2 Cactus Classic, suffering a 10-2 loss against Eastern New Mexico and an 11-3 defeat versus Simon Fraser (Canada).
With the losses, the California University of Pennsylvania softball team starts the year with a 0-2 mark. The Vulcans are competing in Arizona at the D2Cactus Classic for the second time in three years.
Against Eastern New Mexico (7-3), the Vulcans were limited to three hits in the loss. Freshman
Caleigh Rister (Bucyrus, Ohio/Bucyrus) suffered the loss in her college debut after allowing six runs (two earned) on five hits over 4.2 innings.
The Greyhounds took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first before the Vulcans scored on a bases-loaded error with two outs in the second. ENMU countered with one run in the bottom of the inning before freshman shortstop
Kaitlyn Achtermeier (Gilford, Ontario/Bill Crothers) collected a two-out RBI single in the third, 3-2.
In the fifth, ENMU benefited from a pair of errors and scored three runs to extend the lead to 6-2. The Greyhounds forced the run-rule victory in the bottom of the sixth after tallying four runs on three hits and one error.
ENMU sophomore Brook Leger (6-0) earned the complete-game victory after yielding two runs (one earned) on three hits while registering 11 strikeouts. The Greyhounds have already surpassed their win total from last year (four) after being tabbed No. 15 in the preseason Lone Star Conference (LSC) poll.
Versus Simon Fraser (1-1), sophomore third baseman
Britney Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) belted a two-run homer after totaling a pair of homers last spring while hitting at a .377 clip
SFU raced out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first before adding four runs on three hits and three errors in the second inning, 7-0. Simon Fraser scored a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings on Friday to stretch the lead to 11-0. Cal U avoided the shutout by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by the longball from Wilson and a pinch-hit RBI triple by sophomore
Delaney Girvin (Masontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin).
Senior
Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) was saddled with the loss after working 3.2 innings in her season debut. She surrendered 11 runs (four earned) on 11 hits and one walk. Achtermeier tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in her first career appearance in the circle.
Simon Fraser, the lone NCAA school in Canada (British Columbia), was selected fifth in the preseason Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) after not playing last year due to the border closure necessitated by the pandemic. SFU finished with a 13-5 overall record during the shortened 2020 season.
The Vulcans continue play in Arizona tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 19, when they face Western New Mexico and Colorado Mesa, starting at 2 p.m. EST.
