Army Caps Early Bird Classic with Extra-Inning Win

Sunday, February 17

Northridge, Calif.

2:10 PM ET (11:10 AM PT)

Army West Point

3-6

Santa Clara

1-6

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Santa Clara	2	0	1	2	0	0	1	6	12	1
Army West Point	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	4	11	0

Taylor Livingston tallied three hits against Santa Clara on Sunday

Army Caps Early Bird Classic with Extra-Inning Win

February 17, 2019 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The Army West Point softball team closed out the CSUN Early Bird Classic with a thrilling 4-3 victory in nine innings over CSU Bakersfield on Sunday afternoon.

The Black Knights dropped their first game of the day, 6-4, against Santa Clara, and moved to 4-6 on the year. Santa Clara improved to 1-6 on the year, while the Roadrunners fell to 4-3.

Sophomore Taylor Livingston led the Black Knights with four hits on the afternoon, including a three-hit effort against Santa Clara. Grace Mattimore and Emily Ballesteros added three base knocks, while Mattimore contributed one of Army's two doubles and drove in a team-high two runs.

Rookie Jolie Duong was dominant once again in the circle, tossing all nine innings of the night cap and striking out a season-high six batters. The Houston, Texas, native scattered seven hits and three walks while allowing just three runs (two earned).

GAME 1: SANTA CLARA 6, ARMY 4
HOW IT HAPPENED

Santa Clara jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first with a pair of RBI singles.
Army responded in the home half when Mattimore roped an RBI double to right center and evened the game with an RBI groundout by Taylor Drayton the following inning.
The Broncos recaptured the lead in the third and extended it to 5-2 in the fourth.
The Black Knights capitalized on an error and utilized a single by Mattimore to get the game within one, but an insurance run in the seventh put the game out of reach for Santa Clara.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army did not commit an error for the second time this season.
Mattimore posted a career-high three hits in the game.
The Ashburn, Va., native tallied her team-best fourth multi-RBI contest.
Livingston added her first multi-hit effort of the year with three base knocks.

GAME 2: ARMY 4, CSU BAKERSFIELD 3 (9 INNINGS)
HOW IT HAPPENED

Army got out to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning following a single by rookie Bianca Gonzalez that plated Taylor Drayton.
That score held until the bottom of the seventh when CSU Bakersfield received the game-tying, pinch hit RBI double from Ariana Acedo.
Ballesteros put the Black Knights back in front in the top of the eighth with an RBI single to right center before scoring on a fielding error to take a 3-1 lead.
The Roadrunners responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to force the two sides to head to the ninth inning.
Ally Snelling provided Army with the game-winning hit in the ninth with a single to center that scored Madi Gilmore to send the Black Knights home with a victory.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

It was the first game between Army and CSU Bakersfield.
The Black Knights went to extra innings for the first time since March 31 of last season when they competed for eight innings against Boston University.
Ballesteros extended her hitting streak to a team-best nine games.
Duong pitched her third complete game of the season.
The Houston, Texas, native picked up her fourth win of the year.

COACH'S CORNER
Interim Head Coach Bob Beretta – "We had a very nice bounce back win against CSU Bakersfield. We overcame a great deal of adversity throughout the game and displayed a tremendous amount of resiliency. It's tough to be one strike away from closing out a win and seeing that opportunity slip away. To be able to fight through that and come back to win in extra innings speaks volumes to the character of the players on this team.

"We can't say enough about the performance of Jolie Duong. She pitched her heart out all day. She was one strike away from her second consecutive shutout and didn't flinch no matter what the situation. She grew as a player today, and we grew with her as a team. And we received a huge two-out, two-strike, game-winning hit by Ally Snelling. That was an outstanding performance in a high-pressure situation.

"We were disappointed in our effort in the first game today against Santa Clara, so it was really nice to see the way we responded against Bakersfield. These are the kinds of wins that you point to as a tremendous growing experience for all involved. I was very proud of the grit and tenacity with which we played today."

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