Box Score, Gm. 1
Box Score, Gm. 2
GAME 1: Pacific Lutheran 9, Pacific 1 (6)
GAME 2: Pacific Lutheran 10, Pacific 5
PARKLAND, Wash. – Hoping Saturday's wins at Puget Sound were a harbinger of harmony, instead Pacific Lutheran brought humility to bear and had the Pacific softball team humming a sad hymn.
Stacey Hagensen homered, drove in three runs and pitched six innings of four-hit ball in game one and Amanda Hall homered with three RBI in game two as Pacific Lutheran swept Sunday's Northwest Conference doubleheader from the Boxers. PLU won game one 9-1 in six innings with a 10-5 victory in game two at PLU Field.
The Lutes (4-0 NWC, 6-4 overall) racked up 23 hits on the day, and 15 of them came off the bats of players whose last name began with “H”. No one had a bigger day than the double-H, Haley Harshaw, who went 5 for 7 with two doubles, four RBI and three runs scored in the two games.
The Lutes broke a scoreless tie in game one with four runs in the third inning. Harshaw drove in two with a double and Hagensen blasted a two-run home run off losing pitcher
Shannon Miller (Vancouer, Wash.), who allowed six runs, all earned, on six hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings. Harshaw and Hagensen came back around in the fourth inning and hit RBI singles to put the Lutes up 6-0.
Pacific scored its only run in the fifth when relief pitcher Jenny Yano (Fr., Ontario, Ore.) singled, stole second and scored on a
Becca Moen (So., Gresham, Ore.) single up the middle. PLU kept playing add-on, however, pushing two more runs across in the bottom of the fifth. The Lutes ended the game on the mercy rule on a no-out, bases loaded RBI single by Hall, scoring Harshaw in the sixth.
Hagensen (3-3) fanned seven and walked two in the complete game victory. Miller fell to 0-2 on the season.
In game two, Pacific grabbed the early lead with two runs in the first inning and led 3-1 going into the bottom of the fifth when the Lutes exploded for five runs. Showing that an “H” on the back of the jersey was not a requisite to join the hit parade, Montessa Califano and Amy Gran each hit RBI singles. Harrelson added a 2-RBI single and Harshaw drove in a run with her second double of the day.
Pacific closed to within 6-5 with a two-run sixth inning. Four consecutive batters reached base, beginning with a leadoff walk to
Chelsey Chamberlain (Sr., Grants Pass, Ore.), as the Lutes cycled through three pitchers in the frame. After
Lauren Tuey (Sr., Redlands, Calif.) singled pinch-runner
Randee Layosa (So., Lihue, Hawaii) to second,
Jordan Mittelsdorf (Sr., Boardman, Ore.) and
Ashley Billingsley (Sr, Gresham, Ore.) followed with back-to-back singles to plate Layosa and Tuey. With the tying and go-ahead runs on base and nobody out, Hagensen took over on the mound and fanned
Nikki King (Fr., Medical Lake, Wash.) swinging. After
Kiera Melton (Fr., Pleasanton, Calif.) moved the runners up to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, Hagensen got out of the jam by forcing
Kaitlyn Shikada (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) to pop out to left field.
The Lutes continued to bang away at the plate, striking for four hits and four runs in the bottom of the inning off Hanson, who left the game after retiring leadoff batter Amanda Goings in the first inning on a sharp liner, only to return in the fourth to relieve Chamberlain. The big blow was a two-out, 2-RBI single by Hall, scoring Hagenson and Harshaw.
Chamberlain (1-1) was charged with the loss after giving up eight hits and six runs, all earned, in three innings. Kaaren Hatlen (3-0) got the start and the win for PLU, allowing five runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. Hagensen recorded her first save of the season, tossing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, no walks and only one hit allowed.
For Pacific, Moen continues to produce out of the leadoff spot, going 3 for 6 on the day with a walk, run scored and RBI. Moen, Billingsley, Mittelsdorf and
Jenna Stevens (So., Medford, Ore.) each had two hits in game two, with Mittelsdorf driving in two runs.
After going 4-8 on their extended season-opening road sojourn and with a 2-2 start to the NWC schedule, the Boxers finally hit the field at Sherman/Larkins Stadium for their home opener on Saturday, March 3, facing Willamette in a noon doubleheader.
