SF State softball struggles in first home games of the season
After a strong start, SF State Softball can’t field an offense in midst of a 5-game skid.
February 18, 2023
SF State softball lost the first two home games of the season during Friday’s doubleheader action against the Sonoma State Seawolves.
After the Gators’ strong pitching to start both games, a few big innings opened things up for Sonoma State en route to a combined 20-0 shutout between the two games, with final scores of 9-0 and 11-0. The Gators managed just one hit in the first game for five total hits on the day.
The Gators played a tight first game, trailing 2-0 going into the fifth inning, but conceded seven runs in the last inning.
The second game was 1-0 after three innings, but the Seawolves scored five runs in the fourth inning to open up a lead the Gators couldn’t overcome.
“The last two weeks we’ve played some really tough teams and our schedule was set up that way on purpose,” said Head Softball Coach Alicia Reid. “We have a young team overall, so you have to put them in that playoff-type atmosphere, test them early to see how they respond.”
Doubleheader games are typically seven innings instead of nine, but due to NCAA’s eight-run rule, the game can end after five innings if one team takes a lead of eight or more runs. The policy was in play, prompting both games to end early.
After starting off the season with a 5-1 record, the Gators have now lost five consecutive games with just one run scored in each.
Pitcher Lexi Holihan said the team will use Friday to learn from going forward.
“Even though it’s hard, sometimes you have to have that bad day and be like this is what I need to fix,” Holihan said. “I need to push myself harder to work on that and do better.”
Second baseman Kai DeLeon leads the team in batting average to start the season, hitting .333, while outfielder and catcher Marley Gonzalez is second with a .280 average. Kaitlyn Maddux leads the pitchers with a 2.26 earned run average, followed by Brooklyn Heffernan at 3.65.
The Gators were happy to be on their home field for the first time this season despite the tough outcome.
“All of us were very excited,” DeLeon said. “We wanted to start off strong and obviously it wasn’t what we wanted. Tomorrow is the next day and we’re gonna attack it.”
Last year, the Gators finished the season with a 23-30 record. SF State is now 5-6 this season while Sonoma State improves to 8-1.
The Gators will wrap up the four game home series with the Seawolves on Saturday in another doubleheader before traveling to Cal State Dominguez Hills for another four-game series.
“Sonoma’s a very good team and they showed that with a ton of hits,” Reid said. “We’ve got to do a better job of responding and not compounding those hits with errors and mistakes ourselves. Every day in our conference is a tough game, and we’re looking to come back tomorrow and be better.”