The CSUN softball team (18-14) split a Tuesday doubleheader with Illinois at Matador Diamond, winning game one 4-3 before falling by the same score in 10 innings in game two. Freshman Taylor Troost, named Big West Pitcher of the Week Monday, threw all 17 innings for CSUN and picked up her sixth win of the season in the game one victory while Taylor Glover, who was named Big West Player of the Week Monday, continued her tear at the plate with five hits and two doubles over the course of the day.
Facing the Fighting Illini out of the Big Ten Conference for the first time ever on the softball diamond, the Matadors played a pair of thrilling games that came down to the final out. In game one, CSUN used a four-run second to hold off a late Illinois charge while game two saw CSUN rally late only to be undone in extra innings by a two-run home run.
Troost was tough in the circle all day for the Matadors, starting and finishing both games. In the game one victory, she worked around five hits and two walks and finished with two strikeouts. In game two, she went a career-high 10 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and four strikeouts. For the season, she is 6-6 with a 3.56 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 84.2 innings of work.
Glover was 2-for-2 in game one with a double and then 3-for-4 with a double and stolen base in game two. For the year, she is batting .491 with eight doubles, three triples, two home runs, 24 RBIs and nine stolen bases. She also ranks among the league leaders in runs scored (25), on-base percentage (.504) and slugging percentage (.679).
In the bottom of the second in game one, CSUN pushed four runs across with two outs in the frame. Savannah Horvath drew a bases-loaded walk to give CSUN its first run and a wild pitch gave the Matadors a two-run cushion. After Glover walked, Katie Hooper laced a two-run single and CSUN led 4-0.
The Fighting Illini would claw back into the game, scoring a run in the fifth and two in the sixth. Troost gave up a two-out single in the seventh, but a popout to shortstop ended the game. Maylynn Mitchell and Ariana Wassmer each had base hits in the victory.
In the second game, Illinois took an early 1-0 lead in the first on a two-out RBI double. CSUN would remain off the scoreboard until the sixth as Breanna Wonderly kept the Matador bats quiet for the majority of the game. She finished with nine strikeouts in the 10 inning victory.
The Matadors tied the game with an RBI single from Glover, but after stealing second, she would be stranded there to end the inning. In the seventh, CSUN put the winning run in scoring position but a strikeout ended the frame.
Starting in the eighth, the teams went to international tiebreaker rules and started each half inning with a runner on second. Both teams scored a run in the seventh and neither could push one across in the eighth.
The ninth saw Illinois get a two-run home run to take a 4-2 advantage. In the bottom half of the frame, the Matadors loaded the bases with two outs and scored one run on a fielding error before another strikeout ended the game.
Horvath, Mitchell and Taylor Nate all had sacrifice bunts in the game while freshmen Mackenzie Babbitt and Sabrina Garcia each had a base hit.
The Matadors are off for a week and return to action with a doubleheader at CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday, Aug. 29. First pitch of game one against the Roadrunners is slated for 1 p.m.
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