In the final game of the series versus California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, at the top of the seventh inning, freshman pitcher Alexis Perez and the San Francisco State University Gators were one out away from claiming two consecutive victories on Saturday.

The Gators’ defense aided Perez in collecting two outs from hits by Lumberjacks Matea Muraoka and Rylee Banks to start the inning. Both freshmen played their roles in the Lumberjacks’ run-ruled win on Friday in which the Gators sought to regroup from. Perez was confident in her teammate’s defense to back her up.

“I’m very confident in my defense because it lifts the weight off my shoulder knowing that if the ball is hit, I know that my defense will make the play for me,” Perez said. “I’m always just very confident in myself because I’m confident in my defense.”

The now 13-10 Gators swiped two victories on Saturday versus the 9-14 Lumberjacks, climbing up to fourth in the conference standings. Head coach Alicia Reid saw her team shut down the Lumberjacks and shake off Friday’s errors. 

“Postgame yesterday, we talked about the difference from game one to game two was playing good, clean softball, and if we fix a handful of the mistakes that we did to ourselves shooting ourselves in the foot, we felt that we would be in a good position today,” Reid said. “Pitching really stepped up. Lex played great today, working her off speed, hitting good pitches. [Humboldt’s] a good offense that puts up a lot of runs and she really shut them down.” 

First Responders Day pregame ceremony

The Gators held First Responders Day and continued their season-long celebration of 50 seasons of SFSU softball. Former San Francisco Police Department commander Paul Yep, former Gator softball pitcher Jaime Haymond and former Gator outfielder Lori Curran on the mound for the ceremonial first pitch. 

Curran was a member of the 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women’s AIAW West Regional Championship team that claimed a berth in the College World Series. She went on to serve the Richmond Police Department and retired as a lieutenant.

“It’s really special to see the changes and just the team is so much better,” Curran said. “They feel like they’re very cohesive. It’s special for me to come back after all these years.”

G3: Gators 9 Lumberjacks 1

Humboldt scored first in the afternoon’s doubleheader as a hit to right field by sophomore first baseman Marissa Brody sent senior outfielder Alexa Garcia home to claim the first run. Freshman outfielder Olivia Mares and senior center fielder Ashley Rocha ran home after a throwing error and a fielder’s choice by the Lumberjacks giving the Gators a lead in the second inning. 

As she ran home, Mares collided headfirst into Humboldt catcher Muraoka before tagging base as the crowd stood in shock. She eventually returned to the dugout on her own power and remained active in the series. 

After a walk by senior first baseman Shaunessy Cardwell, the Lumberjacks pulled sophomore pitcher Mason Hatton off the mound and sent in fellow sophomore Ariana Bottel. However, that wouldn’t slow down the competition for the Gators.

After getting one strike, senior third baseman Marissa Jordan struck a deep drive towards center field and the ball bounced off the attending UPD car outside the fences. Jordan sent her and Cardwell home to extend the lead 4-1. 

“It feels good to get on and I’m just really glad I could do it for my team and be a part of our big wins today,” Jordan said. 

The Gators took full advantage of the Lumberjacks’ catching errors. SFSU doubled their run count to eight in the fourth inning with runs by freshmen right fielders Malia Morreira and Ariana Mallari, as well as Mares and Rocha’s second runs of the game.

The Gators were one run away from flipping the script on the Lumberjacks and closing the third game via the run rule. Rocha did just that, sealing it at the bottom of the sixth inning with her third run of the game after Cardwell swung the ball to right field.

The Gators won 9-1, leading the series two games to one. 

“I think yesterday we got really knocked down and we were really looking for that fight that we’ve been digging for,” Rocha said. “So being able to get stuff going and contribute to our big win, it felt great. I know we’ve been looking to really get up and punch somebody back and I think we really proved that today.”

G4: Gators 2 Lumberjacks 1

The fourth game started off scoreless through three innings. Humboldt cracked the scoreboard when Lumberjack senior shortstop Shelby Shanks ran home after stealing bases and first baseman Katlyn Gifford struck a ball down right field in the fourth inning. 

The Gators fought back with Rocha delivering a left field hit to allow pinch hitter and middle infielder Deziree Gomez to run home from second base, evening the score at one all in the fifth. 

“Deziree stepped up for us, getting opportunities at the plate and swinging at good pitches, and this moment here, she got something going, found a way to get on base and aggressive base running led to game tying runs,” Reid said. “It’s huge to be able to utilize our bench when needed.”

Cardwell swung a double in the sixth inning before freshman outfielder Anaissa Del Rio was pinched in to take Cardwell’s spot on second base. Del Rio then stole third base and ran home to hand her team the tiebreaker after a Jordan hit to shortstop. 

Perez and her supporting defense sealed the triumph for SFSU in the top of the seventh and they would win the series 3-1 in four games. The Gators turned around on Saturday, displaying resilience on home turf. 

“We’ve really been stressing the mental game and keeping a strong fortitude through two games, and I think today was a great example of what we can do and just setting the bar high for ourselves and really achieving that,” Jordan said. “I’m really proud of our group of girls and nothing I like to see more than two Gator wins.”

Reid trusted her gut and set Perez to be the starting pitcher for the series’ final game after pitching in game one. 

“A lot of these girls grow up playing five games on a weekend, and maybe pitch in three games,” Reid said. “So to throw back to back, it helped having a run rule in the first game for her not to have to throw a full game. She had command of her pitches, had great spots and her offspeed was just nasty and it kept the batters off balance and a lot on their front foot, getting weak ground balls and easy outs for our defense.”

Morreira was among the key athletes on defense in addition to her contributions at bat. She had a 1.000% fielding percentage with seven catches total on Saturday, along with seven putouts and eight catches on Friday. 

“Obviously on defense, as an outfielder, you have to block everything. You have to keep it in front so the runners don’t advance,” Morreira said. “I was just thinking, like, I was just running and hoping I’d catch the ball, just diving after everything, keeping everything in front. And then hitting, I felt like I didn’t do too well yesterday, but in my first game today, I thought I did a lot better.”

The Gators will travel to Southern California to face California State University, San Marcos Cougars next weekend. They look to build and learn from this victorious home series, but Reid emphasizes that everyone must keep showing up and trust the working procedure to carry them onward. 

“We take each game one game at a time. Our conference is so competitive that just because you maybe won two in a row, you still got to show up and do the process the same in terms of what got you those two wins,” Reid said. “It’s great to win the series and that’s what’s most important, win each series and you’ll be in a good position at the end of the year.”