The 16th-ranked Fresno State softball team was looking to extend its season through the loser's bracket in NCAA Region VII play at Stanford, Calif., but the Bulldogs came up short after dropping a 6-1 decision to Pacific at the Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium.
Fresno State (48-20) scored a run on five hits and had one error while Pacific (36-22) tallied six runs on 10 hits and committed three errors.
Pacific used the long ball in the early part of the game before picking up a pair of two-run scoring singles in the latter half to advance.
Tiger first baseman Jennifer Curtier did the damage early with a solo home run in the first and third inning to put UOP up 2-0.
Freshman catcher Nichole Willis cut the lead in half after three full innings of play when she had a RBI single to make it 2-1.
However, Tiger shortstop Michelle Anunciation and catcher Ashlie D'Errico had a two-run scoring single in the fourth and sixth inning, respectively, to solidify Pacific's win.
Junior All-America pitcher Jamie Southern took the loss for the Bulldogs. She allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked two and struck out two in 3.2 innings of work to finish the year at 30-7. Senior left-hander Lori Hoffman pitched the final 3.1 innings and allowed two runs on three hits and struck out four to wrap up her Bulldog career.
Pacific hurler Jennifer Dacre improved to 16-11 after yielding a run (unearned) on five hits while walking one and striking out five.
A phenomenal feat, Southern entered the game by not allowing a home run in 255.1 innings of work - a span of 40 appearances coming into tonight's contest. However, the law of averages caught up as Curtier collected two against the All-American as Southern posted a 0.54 ERA with 127 hits and 299 strikeouts in 259.0 innings while opponents hit just .144 against in 2004.
Offensively, three Tigers had multiple hit games while five different Bulldogs collected a hit.
In the bottom of the third with one out, sophomore All-America shortstop Christina Clark reached on fielding error by the Tiger third baseman Crystal Presson. Southern followed with a single to center field as Clark ran to third on the play. Willis then delivered a RBI single up the middle to score Clark. However, after Hoffman followed with another single to keep the bases loaded, senior center fielder Mitzi Ing and junior second baseman Leticia Pacheco reached base on a fielder's choice but forced their fellow Bulldogs out at home and third base, respectively, to end the threat.
Annunciation had a two-out two-run single in the fourth to put Pacific up 4-1 after four innings of play before D'Errico followed with a two-out two-run single in the seventh to seal the deal.