The San Francisco State University softball team returned home for the first time this season, playing a doubleheader as part of a four-game series against the California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt Lumberjacks.

50th anniversary pregame ceremony

The Gators welcomed their first two head coaches, Coni Staff and Diane Kalliam, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to game one, as a celebration of 50 years for the program.

“It’s a great honor. When I first got to San Francisco State, there was no program… and it was a tough thing to get started at the time,” Staff said. “I’m so enthused with how much progress that’s been made with the facility and the coaching staff.” 

Staff, who led Gator softball for its first two seasons and finished with a record of 12-15, threw a perfect pitch into the strike zone.

“I didn’t even know I was gonna be throwing the first pitch, so I haven’t been throwing in ten years,” Staff said. 

As for Kalliam, she remains the longest tenured head coach in SFSU softball history. In her 21 seasons at the helm, she accumulated 293 wins, the most by any Gators head coach. During the 1981 season, Kalliam’s team led the Gators to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women West Regional championship and a berth in the AIAW College World Series.

“I’m really glad that softball is thriving here after fifty years and I’m honored that I was asked to come out, to be able to see how far the program has come,” Kalliam said. 

G1: Gators 5 Lumberjacks 2

Humboldt jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after an error by Gator freshman second baseman Deziree Gomez. Gomez dove to her left, but couldn’t get her glove on the ball after a hard hit from Lumberjack sophomore first baseman Marissa Brody. 

The Gators were able to respond in the bottom of the first as the Lumberjacks committed two throwing errors, tying the game at one all in the process. 

Following a double from senior infielder Shaunessy Cardwell to right centerfield, senior designated player Marissa Jordan managed to get enough contact off the bat to bloop a single into left field, scoring Cardwell and giving the Gators a 2-1 lead. 

From there, Gators starting pitcher Alexis Perez put in work on the circle, pitching three shutout innings and retiring the side in order in the fourth. 

To lead off the fifth inning, Lumberjacks senior center fielder Alexa Garcia crushed a solo home run to left field, tying the game at two runs a piece.

With two Gators on base, Humboldt senior shortstop Shelby Shanks fielded a routine groundball, but her throw to second base made its way into right field, resulting in both Gators scoring. The ball was put in play by pinch hitter Olivia Moscardi after Gators head coach Alicia Reid inserted her into the game.

“[Olivia] has done that for us, being a consistent hitter and coming in clutch situations when we got an RBI opportunity,” Reid said. “She’s truly giving us the confidence in the coaching staff to be able to put her in if we need to in any given situation.” 

Perez finished the game in the top half, her sixth complete game of the season. In the first game of a doubleheader, her head coach knew how valuable that was for her with a second game still to play.  

“[Perez] threw a great game, she did give up the one bomb, but she came back, responded and got easy outs for us as a defense,” Reid said. “And that’s what it’s about, sometimes you give up that mistake pitch but being able [for her] to stay composed.” 

G2: Lumberjacks 13 Gators 5  F/5

Sophomore pitcher Kharime Caratachea started game two for the Gators,immediately flirting with disaster in the first inning. With the bases loaded, Caratachea walked Lumberjacks’ senior first baseman Katlyn Gifford, giving them another first-inning lead. But she was able to limit the damage as two hard-hit balls on the ground found SFSU gloves and no further runners were able to score. 

The Gators managed to take a 3-1 lead in the second inning thanks to further errors from Humboldt’s defense. Gomez’s first at-bat saw a wild pitch skip by her, giving the Gators the initial lead. Despite not getting a hit, her groundball to the right side of the diamond crossed home their third run of the inning.

Caratachea continued to put herself into trouble in the third inning and looked to get out of the inning without seeing a run cross home, but had to face Humboldt catcher Matea Muraoka next.

The freshman catcher ripped a double into left field, scoring two and tying the game, 3-3. Freshman second baseman Rylee Banks hit a go-ahead two-run single into right field as Caratachea finished her day early. 

“I knew that the pitcher was struggling a little bit and we had been making some good contact, we had some good energy,” Banks said. “So what was going through my mind was just get the bat to the ball because we needed some RBI’s.”

The Gators’ best chance to come back was in the bottom of the third, trailing by one run. With runners at the corners and only one out, freshmen Taylor Wilson and Anaissa Del Rio came to the plate consecutively but weren’t able to get the runner at third across home plate. 

In the fourth inning, the Lumberjacks broke the game open. Sophomore utility player Marisol Gomez subbed in as a pinch hitter for Humboldt and poked a groundball through Gators’ shortstop Kate Nelson’s legs. It was a bases-clearing error giving Humboldt a 9-4 lead. 

Humboldt managed to tack on more runs in the fifth as the Gators scratched together one in the final frame. The Lumberjacks’ eight-run advantage decided the game 13-5 to the “run-ahead” rule. 

Lumberjacks head coach Megan Corriea credited her youthful team  having a lot of fight for being able to take a win from the Gators despite losing earlier in the afternoon. 

“We got eight freshmen, so it’s good that they can learn and move on and work through it and not get down after the first game,” Corriea said. “It shows a lot of maturity for them.”