BURNABY, B.C. – The 2024 NCAA softball season is now underway as the Simon Fraser Red Leafs played their first four games of the season on February 2 and 3. All the contests were played in Los Lunas, New Mexico, as part of the South Central Regional Challenge.
SFU came out firing in its opener against Fort Lewis (Colorado) on February 2. After giving up three runs in the top half of the first, the Red Leafs got them all back and then some by scoring eight runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Junior
Kristen Davyduke (Saskatoon) got things underway with a two-RBI single straight up the middle, before scoring herself just two batters later off a double from
Cassidy Affeldt (Mission, B.C.) to tie the game.
The team didn't stop there, as after loading the bases, the Red Leafs then scored on three consecutive plays. First,
Rachel Boles (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was hit by a pitch which brought one runner home. Then,
Megan Duclos (Saint-Eustache, Que.) cleared the bases with a three-RBI triple before
Grace McMillan (Langley, B.C.) brought her home with a double.
The onslaught proved to be more than enough for SFU as the team didn't give up a run the rest of the game. The Red Leafs put three more on the board in the fourth and fifth innings off of singles from
Janique Balcaen (Winnipeg) and McMillan, before the game ended at 11-3 after five innings due to the run rule. Senior pitcher
Julia Hansen (Beaconsfield, Que.) earned the win in the circle.
The second game of the day didn't go SFU's way in a 9-2 defeat to Colorado State Pueblo. After falling behind 6-0, the Red Leafs found some life in the fourth inning when an Affeldt RBI double was followed by Balcaen stealing home plate, but they were held to just six hits for the game overall.
February 3 began with a closer battle against New Mexico Highlands.
Abby McGlynn (Langley, B.C.) opened the scoring in the first inning by getting an RBI off a fielder's choice. After the Cowgirls evened the score in the top of the second, Duclos knocked an RBI single to centre field to retake the lead in the bottom half of the inning.
Momentum then swung decidedly in WNMU's favour as the Mustangs scored eight unanswered runs between the third and sixth innings to take a 9-2 lead. Affeldt tried to power a comeback with two solo home runs book-ending an RBI single from
Catherine Lussier of North Vancouver, B.C., but the game ended with a 9-5 loss.
The Red Leafs got out to an early 2-0 lead in Game 4 against Adams State (Colorado), with a Lussier RBI single in the second followed by Duclos scoring off a fielding error in the third. However, the Grizzlies managed to score six runs off just eight hits the rest of the way, taking the win 6-2.
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