Cardinals knock off No. 5 Chipola, finish 5-2 at tourney

HENDERSON, Nev. - Freshman Desirae Tinoco drove in all three runs as North Idaho College beat fifth-ranked Chipola College 3-2 to earn a split of its two games Sunday at the Mizuno Kickoff Classic softball tournament.

Chipola, of Marianna, Fla., beat NIC in the 2007 NJCAA championship game.

Tinoco hit an RBI single in the second inning and a two-run double in the fourth to stake NIC to a 3-0 lead. Winning pitcher Blake Meredith also went 2 for 3 and scored twice. Alyssa Erickson pitched the final two innings for the save.

"Both girls did a great job of managing hitters today," NIC coach Don Don Williams said. "We might be ranked after (beating Chipola) and playing well down here."

In the first game Sunday, NIC rallied from a five-run deficit against No. 2 Yavapai College of Prescott, Ariz., but fell short in an 8-5 loss.

Shelby Gonzalez hit a two-run single in a four-run third inning for NIC, and Erickson and Brianna Bishop each hit solo home runs.

NIC, which went 5-2 in the tourney, picked up a pair of games with Chattanooga (Tenn.) State Community College today in Henderson.

YAVAPAI 8, NORTH IDAHO 5

North Idaho 014 000 0 - 5 10 1

Yavapai 520 010 x - 8 12 1

Alyssa Erickson, Blake Meredith (4) and Shelby Gonzales; Hagberg, Landon (2), Willadsen (5) and Labertson. W - Hagberg. L - Erickson.

HITS: NIC - Wise, DeAnda 2, LaVaute, Gonzalez, Meredith, Erickson 3, Bishop. Yav - Keiser, Rodriguez 3, Muniz, Labertson, Willadsen 3, Landon, Cooper, House. 2B - Erickson, Rodriguez, Landon. HR - Erickson, Bishop, Rodriguez, labertson, Willadsen.

NORTH IDAHO 3, CHIPOLA 2

Chipola 000 011 0 - 2 6 0

North Idaho 010 200 x - 3 7 1

Krauser and Matthews, Steedly (6); Blake Meredith, Alyssa Erickson (6) and Shelby Gonzalez. W - Meredith. L - Krauser.

HITS: Chip - Akamine, Black, Matthews, Ellis, Rich, Franklin. NIC - DeAnda, LaVaute, Meredith 2, Goodwin, Tinoco 2. 2B - Franklin, Meredith, Tinoco.