The Eagles took on Central Washington University on Wednesday, one day before the start of the Tournament of Champions in Turlock.  The game was played at Warrior Softball Field on the campus of Stanislaus State and the Eagles came out on top, 5-1.  Callie Nunes pitched six strong innings, giving up just one run, as she earned her 19^th win of the season.  Erika Morris came in out of the bullpen to close the game out, giving the Eagles the victory before the start of tournament action on Thursday.  Amanda Gjertsen collected two hits and drove in three runs in the win.

CUI vs. Cal State Monterey Bay
The Eagles began play in the Tournament of Champions against a quality opponent and came away with a win.  Erika Morris started in the circle for the Eagles, going five strong innings, giving up just two runs, one of which was unearned.  Jordan Quinn came out of the bullpen to finish off the Otters over the final two innings to earn her second save of the season.  Amanda Gjertsen, McKinsey Thorpe, and Sarah Kretschmar each finished two-for-three at the plate, with Thorpe scoring twice and Kretchmar driving in two.  After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Eagles held on to beat the CSUMB, 4-3.

The Eagles got on the board in the first inning and held the lead the entire way.  With one out in the opening frame, Gjersen doubled to left center, and two batters later, she was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Graham.  In the second, the Eagles added another.  Thorpe reached on a bunt single, moved up to second on an error, and scored on an RBI single by Kretschmar.  For the third consecutive inning, the Eagles added one on the scoreboard in the third.  After a leadoff double by Gjertsen, the Eagles extended their lead to 3-0 on a single up the middle by Graham. 

The Otters clawed back into the game, cutting the Eagles' lead to one after scoring runs in the fifth and sixth.  In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Eagles added an insurance run.  After a two out single by Thorpe, Kretschmar doubled to left center, bringing in the fourth Eagles' run of the day.  Though the Otters added a run in the top of the seventh, Jordan Quinn got out of the jam, and the Eagles held on to win, 4-3.

CUI vs. San Francisco State
The Eagles' second game of the day saw them take on another tough team, but for the second time of the day, they rose to the challenge.  Callie Nunes was in the circle for the Eagles, and she hit another milestone.  After throwing a complete game, giving up just one run, while striking out six, she earned her 20^th win of the season.  The Eagles gave Nunes a lead early, and it was all she needed.  Gjertsen and Graham followed up their big games in the afternoon with more tremendous hitting under the lights.  Gjertsen added two more hits, while Graham went three-for-three with a run scored and five RBIs. 

Graham got off to a hot start in her first at bat and kept it going all game long.  Following a two out double by Syndey Sprinkle, Graham brought her in on a single to center to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead after one. 

In the third inning, the Eagles broke the game open and Graham was again right in the middle of the action.  With two on and out one, Graham hit her fifth home run of the season, giving the Eagles a 4-0 lead.  Though the Gators added one in the fifth, the Eagles came right back with one in the bottom half of the inning and two in the sixth.  Graham drove in her fifth run of the day in the fifth, and hits by Kretschmar, Massa, and Gjertsen brought in two in the sixth. 

The win was the sixth consecutive for the Eagles and 12^th in their last 13 games. 

The Eagles face their toughest test yet of the season on Saturday.  At 12:30 PM, No. 5 CUI takes on No. 11 UC San Diego.  The Tritons enter the game with a stellar 22-6 record.  To follow along, live stats will be available here.