Black Knights Split First Day of Classic

Friday, February 18

San Diego, CA

6 P.M. EST

Army West Point

1-0

CSUN

4-4

CSUN

Army West Point

Black Knights Split First Day of Classic

February 18, 2022 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- Army West Point Softball (1-1) split the first day of the 31^st Annual Campbell/Cartier Classic. The Black Knights captured their first win of the season over California State University, Northridge (4-4) 4-2, but fell to the tournament host San Diego State (6-2) 8-0.

Brook Mitchell was strong at the plate for Army with three hits in five at bats with a .600 slugging percentage. Jiselle Castano finished the day with one hit, one run and three RBI for the Black Knights. Jolie Duong had a strong game in the circle with six strikeouts while only allowing two earned runs in seven innings.

Game 1

Duong was strong in the circle from the start of the game dealing four strikeouts in the first two innings for the Black Knights. Edwards had the first hit of the game for Army in the bottom of the first, firing off a single to right center, but the Cadets couldn't get anything going at the plate.

CSUN got on the board first in the top of the third off a single to right center. Army was able to get the final out to strand a Matador on base and head back to the batter's box. The Black Knights took off in the bottom frame with four runs off four hits. Mitchell started the momentum by opening the frame with a single through the left side. The next three batters each reached base for the Black Knights. Leila Hurst was the fifth batter up for Army and drilled the ball through the left side for an RBI single to tie the game up at 1-1. With runners on second and first, Castano launched the ball over the leftfield fence for a three-run home run to push Army to a 4-1 lead.

The fourth inning was silent for both teams as Army retired the first three batters for CSUN. The In the top of the fifth inning, Matadors were able to get one runner across home plate off a triple to cut Army's lead to 4-2. Duong struck out the last batter to strand of CSUN runner on base.

It was a battle of the pitchers the rest of the way. Army escaped the game with a 4-2 victory, claiming its first win of the 2022 season. Doung picked up the win in the circle and six strikeouts.

Game 2

Olivia Farris made her debut in the circle for Army and picked up her first strikeout in the Black & Gold. She helped Army escape the inning leaving one Aztec on base. In the top of the first, Kaci Donaldson fired off her first hit of the day with a single to third base, but Army was unable to keep the momentum going stranding a runner on base. SDSU gave the Black Knights trouble in the bottom frame scoring five runs off six hits and one error to make the score 5-0 in favor of the Aztecs at the conclusion of the second.

Mitchell was the second batter up in the top of the third for Army and recorded a single to second. Kendall Powell entered the game as a pinch hitter and worked the count to draw a walk to make that two Black Knights on base. The Cadets were unable to capitalize on the opportunity leaving the two on base and headed back to the field. The Aztecs pushed one run in the bottom half of the inning to increase their lead to 6-0.

In the bottom of the fourth SDSU plated two more runs to increase its lead to 8-0 heading into the fifth inning. Army was unable to get momentum going in the top of the fifth falling 8-0 in five innings to SDSU.

Coach's Corner
"In the first game we were able to get a tough battle out of JoJo (Jolie Duong) along with some clutch hitting to secure a win. Overall we're out here to get ready and get better. We'll be looking to improve on our start and play good fundamental ball." - head coach Cheryl Milligan

Up Next
The Black Knights prepare for the second day of the 31^st Annual Campbell/Carter Classic on Saturday, Ffeb. 19 as they face California Baptist University and SDSU.

Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point softball, follow the Black Knights on Twitter @ArmyWP_Softball, on Instagram @armywp_softball, and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.