Box Score

LOS ANEGLES, Calif. -- The USD Softball team (25-17, 4-1) split a doubleheader at Loyola Marymount on Sunday. The Toreros were shutout 1-0 in game one, giving them their first WCC loss of the season, but rebounded with a 4-2 win in game two, powered by home runs by Kailey Hill and Danielle Mavridis.

Game one was a pitcher's duel between both team's aces; the Toreros' Paige von Sprecken and the Lions' Rachael Farrington each managed to strand nine runners. The Toreros put runners in scoring position in three of their first four innings, but couldn't come up with the clutch hit to crack the scoreboard.

The Lions loaded the bases in the third with just one out, but the Toreros got out of the jam when Kailey Hill nailed a runner at home trying to tag up on a fly out to complete the crucial double play.

LMU notched the game-winning run in the fifth when Alex Finie knocked in Meghan Von Behren, who led off the inning with a triple.

In the top of the seventh, the Toreros had the potential winning run on second base with one out, but Farrington was able to retire Morgan Kurtz and Kailey Hill to give the Lions a 1-0 win in game one.

Von Sprecken (18-7) was a tough-luck loser, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out four. Farrington (16-11) held USD to just four hits in the shutout.

In game two, the Toreros quickly grabbed the lead when Kailey Hill hit a first inning solo home run to left field. It was Hill's tenth home run on the year, and she is now just one home run away from tying USD's all-time record of 11 set by Taylor Hensley in 2010.

USD tacked on one more in the second when Frankie Perales, who was making her first start in nearly a month, singled home Chloe Kaneko to give USD a 2-0 lead.

The Lions cut into USD's lead in the bottom of the second when Caitlin Harmon hit a solo home run to centerfield.

USD added one more in the fourth when Danielle Mavridis brought home pinch-runner Hannah Gilliland with a single to right field. Mavridis added an insurance run for USD in the seventh with a solo home run down the left field line. Mavridis leads the team with a .556 average in conference play.

The Lions added a run with an Amanda Dirks solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough as USD held on to win 4-2.

Grace Hernandez (6-6) stranded nine LMU baserunners and allowed just two runs on seven hits.

The Toreros (25-17, 4-1) will try to keep pace with BYU, who is 6-0 in league play, when they wrap up their series at LMU tomorrow at noon.