It was two days of heroism then heartbreak for the Cal State San Marcos softball team at the NCAA Division II Championship Finals. The Cougars delivered one of the most stunning comebacks in program history, rallying from three runs down in the eighth to stun No. 5 West Texas A&M 5-4 in nine innings on a walk-off error, then dropped their next game to No. 1 Saint Leo 5-3 in eight innings.
The split leaves CSUSM (56-10) very much alive in the double-elimination bracket. They'll face the winner of the North Georgia-Glenville State at 3:30 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, May 30.
Game 1: CSUSM 5, West Texas A&M 4 (9 innings)
The Cougars played fearlessly in their first game vying for the national championship.
West Texas A&M, the nation's leader in home runs and batting average, took a 1-0 lead in the second on a sacrifice fly and held it until the fourth, when Alizabeth Ruiz singled home Czar Fleischman to tie the game. The two teams traded zeroes from there, a grinding, tense pitching duel that stretched into extra innings.
The eighth hit like a freight train, the wrong way. West Texas’ Laci Peskey singled to drive in a run, and Jordyn De Los Santos, one of the most dangerous hitters in Division II, ripped a two-RBI single to center, and suddenly CSUSM was down 4-1, needing three runs to tie and stay in the game.
The Cougars didn't flinch. Pinch hitter Kaila Siu drew a walk, Fleischman doubled and Siu scored, and then Sarah Bull blasted a two-run homer down the left field line. Three runs and now the teams were even heading into the ninth, 4-4.
In the top of the ninth, after a single, West Texas A&M flied out, popped up, and struck out, and it was the Cougars’ turn. Jordan Elias singled, then Marissa Morales dropped down a bunt, and Elias never stopped running, scoring all the way from first off the bunt and a throwing error to set off a full-on Cougar celebration and a 5-4 walk-off win.
Game 2: Saint Leo 5, CSUSM 3 (8 innings)
The Cougars spotted top-ranked Saint Leo three runs in the first inning and spent the rest of the game trying to claw them back, and for a long time, it looked like they just might.
Saint Leo’s Briana Neal opened the scoring with a solo home run, and two more runs followed on a combination of an error and timely hitting to put the Lions up 3-0 before CSUSM even came to bat.
Jillian Albayati had other ideas. The Division II batting leader who entered the day hitting .528, answered immediately with a solo shot to left center in the bottom of the first, then did it again in the third, pulling the Cougars within one at 3-2.
San Marcos tied it in the fourth on a wild pitch that scored pinch runner Jordan Munn, and from there both teams locked into a tense, scoreless stalemate through the seventh. The Cougars had chances with two-on and no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn't deliver the go-ahead blow.
Saint Leo finally broke through in the eighth. A double, a bunt error, and a stolen base helped produce two runs, and the Lions held on for the 5-3 victory.
Albayati finished with two home runs and two RBI.
The Cougars live to fight another day. They will face the winner of the North Georgia-Glenville State game at 3:30 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, May 30.
Top Photo: Jordan Elias celebrates as she scores the winning run from first base. Credit: Nico Klementzos
