Game 1: St. Thomas 4, Whitworth 0 (Complete
box and play by play) ORANGE, Calif. - Whitworth stood toe to toe with a pair of NCAA Division III softball powers on Thursday afternoon at the SunWest Tournament hosted by Chapman University before losing 4-0 to two-time defending national champion St. Thomas and defeating Williams 9-5 in 10 innings. In the first game against the Tommies, Jo Sonnett limited the powerhouse to only four hits. But two Pirate errors in the second inning led to a pair of unearned runs in a three run rally. St. Thomas (14-1) added another run in the third before Sonnett settled down and limited the Tommies to only one hit over the final four innings. Whitworth could not get its offense going against STU's Janet Nagle. The Pirates could manage only two singles. But Whitworth got its offense going in the second game, scoring five runs in the first four innings to take a 5-1 lead against Williams. Whitworth scored two unearned runs in the first and short stop Kristin Hanson drove in the single runs in the second and fourth. But Williams rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third against Whitworth starter Jennifer Eckhoff. Sonnett came on in relief and shut down the Ephs until they rallied with two out in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. Whitworth rallied for four runs in the top of the 10th. Jodi Schock capped the rally with a two-run single. St. Thomas, which has won the last two NCAA Division III titles, is ranked #1 in the preseason AFCA coaches poll. Williams (4-4), which also advanced to the DIII world series last season, is ranked 8th in the preseason poll. By winning one and losing one in the circle today, Sonnett's record is now 7-4. Whitworth is 9-7 heading into a doubleheader tomorrow against NAIA power Vanguard University. |
