March 6, 2006
27th-ranked Monarchs record split on day one of Sun West Tournament
Methodist falls 6-5 to Division I Pennsylvania, defeats Lake Erie 3-2

ORANGE, Calif. – The 27th-ranked Methodist Monarch softball team opened play in the prestigious Sun West Tournament on Monday with a split in its first two games. The Monarchs dropped their first game in eight innings, 6-5 against NCAA Division I Pennsylvania from the Ivy League, but rebounded to win their second game against Lake Erie 3-2.

Methodist is now 9-1 overall on the season.

In the first game, the Monarchs wiped out a 4-0 Quaker lead with two runs in the third inning and three in the fourth. Freshman Sara Poling smacked a two-run home run – her third on the season – in the third. After Amy Faucette drilled an RBI single and LaTiana Headen hit an RBI double in the fourth, Adrienne Acosta scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Monarchs a 5-4 lead.

But Pensylvania tied the game with a run in the sixth and took the lead with a run in the eighth. Methodist had runners on first and third in the bottom of the eighth, but Rebekah Kelly was gunned down at home trying to score on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Faucette and Kristen Kennedy both went 3-for-3 for the Monarchs, while Poling with 2-for-2. Mara Brown was the losing pitcher in relief.

After allowing Lake Erie to tie the game with two runs in the sixth, Methodist went ahead for good with a run in the seventh as Kelly scored on a wild pitch. The Monarchs previously took a 1-0 lead with a run in the fourth on an RBI double by Faucette, and increased the lead to 2-0 in the sixth on a solo home run by Lisa Jackson.

Jennifer Sorensen improved to 6-0 on the season with the victory in relief. She threw one-and-two-thirds innings of no-hit ball. Jackson went 2-for-2, while Kelly and Poling both went 2-for-3.

Methodist plays DeSales at 1 p.m. (PST) and host Chapman at 3:30 p.m. (PST) on Tuesday on the second day of the Sun West Tournament.