Despite making strides towards being more effective on offense, the Gators dropped four straight to the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros in two double-headers on Friday (2-5, 3-10) and Saturday (5-9 ,0-5) .

Junior Jennifer Lewis nearly doubled her number of hits for the season during the weekend, going 6-for-13 with a home run and three RBI’s. Seniors Courtney Gravel and Selina Rodriguez also had productive days at the plate, combining for nine hits and five RBI’s.

“I just went up there not trying to do too much,” Rodriguez said. “Trying to look for my pitch has really helped me out.”

A clutch double from Rodriguez with the bases loaded scored three in the bottom of the third inning during the first of Saturday’s two games. Proactive plate appearances with runners in scoring position are something SF State’s head coach Christina Byrne would like to see continue, especially  from her more experienced players.

“It was really nice to see some of our big bats come around,” Byrne said. “That’s what it’s going to take to be competitive. We’ve been leaving small villages on base, and that just can’t happen. It’s way less of a problem with mechanics for the most part, it’s all about being clutch.”

Gravel, Gator shortstop, has made a strong presence by contributing offensively to numerous scoring innings for SF State. After starting the season off in a relative slump, the senior has recently raised her batting average to .328.

“I’m really seeing the ball well and swinging at a lot of good pitches,” Gravel said. “As a team we still need to capitalize on those big moments, but it’s looking good going forward with another week of adjustments.”

The Gators will look to build off of their steadily improving offensive performances when they take on Holy Names University in a Friday double-header.

“It’ll be nice to get away from the conference for a couple games,” Byrne said. “We just have two this weekend and we’ve beaten this team before. It should be nice to let the girls have a little less to do.”