Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 On Saturday, the only mercy Bethany softball (0-7) received came via the rulebook, as the Cougars (3-1) posted impressive victories by scores of 10-0 and 8-0. Both games were shortened due to the 8-run “mercy rule.” In game one, CSUSM’s success started on the mound. After allowing a pair of base hits to start the game, Sandberg locked down. She was able to consistently locate her curveball, making numerous Bethany hitters miss badly and keeping the entire lineup honest enough to make her fastball effective. In pitching the full five innings, Sandberg didn’t let a runner cross the plate, surrendering just four hits and one walk while striking out six. The Cougar lineup struck early, and with great force. CSUSM tallied 10 hits during a school-record 10- run second inning, and that would be more than enough. Melissa Lerno got things started with a single up the middle, and Mimi Krutein immediately doubled her in with a booming shot to the gap. Lindsey Preovolos promptly singled her in, and Karen Morizi and Erica Coelho followed with RBI singles of their own. After Elizabeth Bush reached on an error, Lauren Nelson blooped yet another RBI single, making the game 5-0. With the bases loaded, Kristen Ghimenti came in to pitch, and promptly walked Lerno, making it 6-0. The final blow came from Mimi Krutein. Krutein hammered Ghimenti’s offering to the left-centerfield fence. It cleared the bases, and as Krutein slid in safely to third, the throw in to the infield sailed into the opposing dugout, advancing Krutein home. The Cougar dugout greeted her at the plate, and the 10-0 score would hold through the remainder of the contest. Game two provided much the same story. The Cougar lineup jumped all over Bethany’s pitching, rattling off six runs in the first inning. Coach Kelly Warren ordered her team to run early and often, and CSUSM tallied three stolen bases in the inning. Leilani Madrigal set the tone with a bunt single and a stolen base, and Elizabeth Bush singled her in. Bush then stole second, and Lerno singled her in. After Mimi Krutein drew a walk, Marly Barth annihilated a fastball over all the outfielders’ heads, tripling in both runs. Lauren Nelson and Shanti Poston chipped in RBI singles, making the score 6-0 when the dust settled. On the mound, Melissa Lerno (2-0) wasn’t quite as dominant as usual, but she was plenty effective. Bethany advanced runners to scoring position in each of the first three innings, but Lerno was able to escape all those situations without allowing a run. She would get stronger as the game went on, finishing with a line of 5 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, and 5 K’s. After a wild pitch and a Coelho triple pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fourth, Lerno stranded the bases loaded in the fifth to once again invoke the mercy rule. The 3-1 Cougar women will be in action tomorrow against three-time defending SCIAC Conference champions Redlands University.