TURLOCK, Calif. - The Western Oregon softball team saw their lead slip away late as the Wolves fell 3-2 to Cal State Dominguez Hills in bracket play on the final day of the 2011 Mizuno Tournament of Champions Sunday.

Western (9-19) took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning of the Bronze Bracket quarterfinal thanks to a solo home run from senior Jessica Wood. The shot over right center was the first of Wood's career.

The Wolves would put runners on first and second in the third inning behind a pair of two-out singles from sophomore Andrea Bailey and senior Tierra-Lyn Cuba. Senior Jessica Hallmark was then walked, loading the bases, but CSUDH forced a fly-out on WOU's next at bat, getting out of the jam.

Western's half of the fifth inning saw Hallmark go yard on a two-out swing, giving the Wolves a 2-0 lead. The homer was her seventh of the season.

The Toros came alive in the sixth, however, erasing WOU's lead with a trio of runs. A double scored the first run while a sacrifice fly scored the second. Another double and two walks loaded the bases before the next CSUDH batter was hit by a pitch, forcing the winning run in.

Bailey was able to get on base in the seventh behind a one-out single to right field but two consecutive outs ended the inning and the game.

Wood (4-13) had a three-hit shutout going through 5.1 innings before the Toros broke through in the sixth. She tallied seven strikeouts while allowing just one walk. The seven K's were the third most in a game for Wood on the year.

Bailey, Wood, and freshman Ashley Worthey all had two hits apiece for Western.

WOU will resume Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next weekend with a pair of doubleheaders at Northwest Nazarene. The first set of games will be played Saturday (April 8), beginning at 3:00 pm PST. Sunday's games are set to start at noon PST.

Notes
Bailey finished the tournament batting .389. She led the team with seven hits including a pair of doubles. Her on base percentage (.476) was tops on the team while her slugging percentage (.500) was second . . . Hallmark hit four doubles and one home run, giving her a team-best slugging percentage of .722 for the tournament . . . Wood and junior Bailey Rueck batted .333, respectively. Rueck had six hits over the six games while Wood's slugging percentage (.467) was third on the team.