Game 1: Gateway Routs Mesa in Offensive Explosion
Gateway pulled off a big victory over Mesa with a final score of 9-4 on Saturday, March 23rd in game 1. Gateway's offense was led by the impressive hitting of Gabriella Cicchillo, who went 2-for-4 with a double, 2 runs, and a team-high 3 RBIs. Amelia Gomez and Madison Brandon also had strong outings, each driving in 2 runs. Alexandra Martinez chipped in with a double and 2 runs, contributing to Gateway's offensive success.
Despite the early lead by Gateway, Mesa refused to go down without a fight. They managed to chip away at the end of the game, scoring 3 runs in the 9th inning. However, Gateway's lead was too big for the T-birds to over come and the Geckos walked away with the win. GateWays pitching held strong, particularly with Kelly Katalbas who earned the win. Katalbas pitched 4 innings, allowing only no runs on 1 hits while striking out 4 batters.
Game 2: Gateway defeats Mesa by a Score of 9-3
Gateway's Softball team came out on top against Mesa in a close game that went down to the wire. The final score was 9-3 in favor of the Geckos The game was dominated by pitching on both sides. Gateway's Kelly Katalbas took the win, pitching a complete game with 7 strikeouts and allowing only 2 earned runs. Mesa's pitching staff also held GWCC scoreless for the first three innings. The game remained scoreless until the top of the 4th inning when the Geckos put 3 runs on the board. Mesa answered back with one run in the bottom of the 4th. Gateway scored 1 run in the top of the 6th which Mesa responded to with 2 more runs. The Geckos opened up their lead in the 7th inning where the scored 5 unanswered runs to secure the win.
The game was highlighted by a multi-hit performance from Alexandra Martinez who went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Rebekka Nance and Jazminn De La Cruz also chipped in with 2 RBI each. Also contributing were Amelia Gomez and Madison Brandon who each went 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 1 run scored respectively. Katalbas also contrinuted at the plate going 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 1 RBI. Gateway was able to capitalize on Mesa's defensive miscues, committing only 1 error compared to Mesa's 2.
This win improves Gateway's conference record to 5-8, while Mesa falls to 1-11.
