‘Jacks stumble at tournament
Team opens season 2-2, but drops four straight to close opening weekend
After going 2-2 in their first two days of play, the Lumberjacks struggled on Saturday and Sunday as they lost all four games at the kickoff tournament in Texas. Now at 2-6, Humboldt will have some time to retool and make some changes before starting their league schedule in a little over a week.
Humboldt was faced with stiffer competition in the final two days of the tournament, taking on two teams that were regional qualifiers last season. And aside from those two, the ‘Jacks opened the final two days with a tough matchup against St. Edward’s University from Austin, Texas. Although St. Edwards was not expected to be an elite contender, they finished the opening weekend with a 5-1 record. The Hilltoppers knocked off the 13th ranked team in the nation, Augustana, and their only loss came against Central Oklahoma, who is ranked 8th nationally.
All that was prior to their game against Humboldt. And despite the final result, the ‘Jacks were competitive in the matchup. St. Edward’s got out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Humboldt quickly tied it up in the third on a triple by Micaela Harris that drove in McKenna Beach. That 1-1 tie held until St. Edward’s exploded with four runs in the fifth inning to take a commanding 5-1 lead en route to the victory.
In the second game of the day, the Lumberjacks faced 18th ranked Angelo State. It was an ugly performance for Humboldt almost from the start. Angelo State got out to 7-0 lead in the second inning and quickly extended it to 9-0 in the third. Humboldt scored their only run in their fifth inning as they tried to avoid losing by softball’s mercy rule, but to no avail. The game was called in the fifth inning since Angelo State led by 8
or more runs.
It seemed that the adversity on Saturday carried over to Sunday and further derailed the Lumberjacks. Arguably the worst of the team’s losses at the tournament came in the early game against Regis University. Last season, Regis was a competitive team that finished at 35-23, but they came into the matchup with Humboldt winless in their first four games.
The ‘Jacks got off to a strong start, leading 3-1 after the first inning after Izzy Starr hit a 3-run homer. But by the end of the second inning, things were evened up at 4-4. But Regis took a 5-4 lead in the third and proceeded to run away with the game in the final three innings en route to a 9-4 victory. It was the Rangers’ only victory of the tournament, and Regis had also lost to the two teams Humboldt beat.
The Lumberjacks tried to remain resilient heading into their second game of the day against a tough opponent in Oklahoma Christian. Both teams had solid starts as the score was 4-2 after the first inning, with Humboldt’s offense coming on a two-run single by Alyssa Ramirez. The ‘Jacks traded runs in the fifth against the Lady Eagles, getting the score to 5-3. But Humboldt couldn’t quite overcome the deficit as they lost 6-3.
One positive note from the team’s earlier games prior to Saturday and Sunday was that returning AllAmerican Micaela Harris set the CCAA stolen base record for a single game when she recorded six steals versus Texas A&M International.
Although the 2-4 start is a bit underwhelming, it was a competitive showing in a tournament filled with elite teams that mostly hailed from the Lone Star Conference. It should provide a solid foundation for this team to build upon as they head into league play in a very difficult CCAA that is led by the second-ranked team in the nation, Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Lumberjacks will begin that league schedule on the road on Feb. 17 when they play a series against Cal State San Marcos, the second-best team in the CCAA and the 11th ranked team in the nation.