Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 TURLOCK, Calif. - All good things must come to an end.
And unfortunately for the No. 1 team in all of NCAA DII, the nation's longest winning streak came to a close on Friday in the Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State.Â
Concordia University Irvine had won 36 consecutive games before Friday, which was the longest winning streak to start a season in both CUI softball program history and the PacWest Conference archives as well.
The Eagles were recently voted
the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in the NFCA DII Top 25 Coaches Poll
after going 12-0 during its recent homestand and improving to 24-0 in league play. CUI is still the only team in all of NCAA DII to hold a record of 36-2 entering this weekend.
Game 1: Stanislaus State 6, CUI 1
Megan Massa collected the first hit of the day for the Green and Gold and came around to score on a RBI single by
Sydney Sprinkle in the bottom of the first inning.
It was a great start for CUI but then the momentum swung to the Warriors. Stanislaus State scored its first two runs on a passed ball to go up 2-1, and then added three more in the second inning to take a commanding 5-1 lead.
Freshman
Shelby Pfeiler contributed a double in the fifth inning and classmate
Mia Saucedo added a single to lead off the sixth for CUI. But both would be stranded on the bases as CUI couldn't mount the comeback and suffered its first loss of the season. It came remarkably in game No. 37 for CUI this spring.
Game 2: Sonoma State 5, CUI 2
The Eagles fell behind 3-0 when Jordyn Martinez hit a two-run homer off of CUI starter
Katlin Entrup in the top of the third. Three consecutive singles put CUI on the board when Sprinkle again knocked in Massa with a base hit. However with two runners in scoring position,
Missy Nemeth lined out to the shortstop, who then made a great play and doubled off the runner at second base to stop that rally.
Rae Flores relieved Entrup in the fourth inning and kept the Eagles in the game. The Seawolves did create some breathing room in the later innings which proved to be important when CUI rallied in the seventh.
Rylie Rohr plated
Jasmine Gorman with a RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-2. Gorman had singled with one out to get the Green and Gold back on the basepaths. However, CUI ran out of outs in the batter's box and the Seawolves prevailed 5-2.
The Eagles resume play Saturday at 9 a.m. against Western Oregon and then play again later in the afternoon against Cal State Monterey Bay.
CLICK HERE for the full CUI softball schedule