Simon Fraser University head women's softball coach Mike Renney is two wins away from career number 500.
Trisha Bouchard clubbed a threerun homer in the eighth inning to give the Clan a 9-6 victory over Grand Canyon University and Renney his 498th win at the Desert Stinger tournament in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Bouchard went two for four at the plate with four runs batted in. Cara Lukawesky went seven and twothird innings to record her third win of the young season.
"I was pleased with the offensive output early on but the way we sat on the lead was disappointing," said Renney in a school press release.
The Clan kicked off the softball season with a 10-5 win over Academy of Art on Leah Riske's three-run, three-RBI outing.
After a 15-0 defeat to Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, SFU came out the following day with two big wins over Minot State and Lewis universities.
Carly Lepoutre had three hits, two RBIs and one run scored in the leadoff position. Riske also knocked in three runs.
Lukawesky went the distance, giving up just four hits in the 11-1 mercy-rule win over Minot State.
In the second game, Kelsie Hawkins allowed just one earned run in six innings in a 2-1 victory over Lewis.
Burnaby's Kelsey Haberl figured prominantly in both Clan runs. The senior infielder drew a walk with the bases loaded in the fourth inning to tie the game 1-1. In the sixth inning, Haberl hit a pitch to the shortstop and the resulting error allowed Lauren Mew to score the game-winning run from second base.
Lukawesky came on in the top of the seventh to record her first save of the year.
"Offensively, I thought we were flat after the offensive fireworks of the first game, but our pitchers know that their job is to keep us in the game and Hawkins did just that, pitching perhaps the best game of her career," said Renney.
SFU is in Fullerton, California today (Wednesday).
