Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
California Baptist
Softball Sees Two Losses Against California Baptist, San Diego State to Close Southern California Tour
February 09, 2025 | Softball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Army West Point Softball (2-4) finished its trip to southern California suffering two losses to California Baptist (3-2) and San Diego State (3-2).
In the first game against the California Baptist Lancers, a late game comeback fell short, with the Black Knights falling 7-8, and then in a game against the San Diego State Aztecs, Army saw a 1-9 loss.
Caitlyn Newburn, Maisi Sigler and Annie Christiana all had two hits in the game against the Lancers. Caitlyn Newburn earned one home run and had three RBIs, with Maaika Dones also adding three RBIs with only one hit.
In the second game against San Diego State, Sienna Tepley had the lone run for the Black Knights, scoring on a sacrifice hit from Emma Murchison.
GAME 1
The Lancers scored first in the matchup taking a 1-0 lead by the end of the first.
Army responded quickly in the top of the second inning, tying the game at one run each. It started with Maisi Sigler singling to the right field then Sienna Tepley reaching on a fielding error. Annie Christiana then hit another single, loading all the bases. Maaika Dones would ground out to the shortstop, but not Sigler scored Army's first run of the game.
Then in the bottom of the second inning, California Baptist's bats exploded, scoring five runs off of four hits and one error in the inning. Midway through the inning, Amanda Eaglin who started pitched was relieved by Katelyn Flanders. Ultimately, the Lancers took a 1-6 lead heading into the third inning.
CBU also scored in the bottom of the third, stretching the lead to 1-7, with Army looking to come back from a six-run deficit.
Army was held scoreless in the fourth inning, then started a comeback in the top of the fifth inning.
Ashton White would reach base on a fielder's choice and Taylor Brown would force a walk, then Caitlyn Newburn hit a home run, her third of the weekend in California, to bring the Black Knights within three runs.
Sienna Tepley would reach on a fielder's choice and Sophie Smith would come to pinch hit, being hit by a pitch to get on base. Sam Bocis was added to pinch run for Smith, and then Annie Christiana hit a single to advance the runners. Maaika Dones would come to the plate and single towards left field, allowing Tepley and Bocis to run home, making it a one-run game.
The game-tying run came in the top of the sixth, with Ashton White hitting another single, and then advancing to second on a wild pitch. Maisi Sigler would hit a double through the left side, sending White home and tying the game.
Army would cause the Lancers to go three-and-out in the bottom of the sixth, sending the game to the final inning. In the top of the seventh, Sam Rodgers would hit a single, but CBU would put out the next three batters, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, a CBU hitter would be hit by a pitch, which would eventually turn into the game-winning run. The Lancers would be able to steal second, then hit a walk-off single to survive Army's comeback attempt.
GAME 2
San Diego State came out swinging in the second game of the day, scoring two runs in the first inning while forcing the Black Knights to three consecutive strikeouts.
In the top of the second inning, Breanna Izzo responded with three consecutive strikeouts of her own to move the game into the bottom of the second inning but went three-and-out in the second inning as well.
San Diego State did some more damage in the third inning, hitting three runs off of two hits and two errors, and then both teams held each other scoreless for the next one-and-a-half innings.
The Aztecs went on their final run in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs, taking a 9-0 to the bottom of the fifth. The Black Knights earned their first run. Sienna Tepley hit the first Black Knight triple of the year, then Emma Murchison grounded out to the shortstop allowing Tepley to score a run. But the eight-run lead would force a run rule, ending the Black Knights's trip to southern California.
NEXT UP
The Black Knights head to Columbus, Georgia to host the Columbus Classic, with matchups against Tennessee Tech, LIU and Syracuse. The Columbus Classic will begin on February 14 and last through February 16.
