Lake Elsinore, Calif. – The NCU softball team continued play in the NAIA SoCal Classic on Saturday, dropping a pair of games despite holding early leads in both affairs.
 
Hosted by Triple Crown Sports, official stats for the games were not provided.
 
University of Saint Katherine 6, Northwest Christian 2
 
The Beacons went up 2-0 in the third inning on RBI singles from Peyton Poler and Jordan Kuykendall, but were unable to hold as Saint Katherine scored four in the fifth and two in the sixth. Poler made her Beacon debut after red-shirting the 2019 season and did so with a bang, going 2-for-3 with two singles and two stolen bases.
 
Emma Jegtvig started the game and threw the first inning before coming back to close the game, recording the final four outs in relief. Leslie Reynaga took the loss, giving up two earned runs in 1.1 innings of work.
 
Cassia Ruiz led the offensive effort for Saint Katherine, batting 3-for-4 with four RBI and a home run in the leadoff spot.
 
No. 11 Hope International 12, Northwest Christian 4 (6 Innings)
 
The Beacons fell victim to the run rule in their second contest, falling to NAIA No. 11 ranked Hope International University. NCU gave up 14 hits in the game as starter Liberty Walker allowed eight earned runs as she worked into the sixth.
 
A big bright spot for the Beacons came in the top of the second inning when they took a 3-1 lead on a three-run home run from sophomore Alexa Berry (pictured). It was the first dinger of her career.
 
 
NCU closes out the tournament on Sunday, taking on Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Arizona) and Marymount University (California).