SPOKANE, Wash. — In a key match-up of Northwest Conference title contenders, host Whitworth struck the first two blows with a doubleheader sweep of Pacific in women's softball action on Friday at the Diana Marks Softball Field.
The Pirates won 3-1 and 12-1 in the first two games of the four-game set. Whitworth improved to 16-5 overall and to 8-2 in the NWC, while Pacific fell to 16-9-1 on the year and to 8-6 in conference action.
In the first game, Whitworth didn't record their first hit off of Boxer starter
Marissa Reichard until the fourth inning and they still hadn't scored heading into the fifth. Meanwhile, the Boxers had seven hits through five innings but couldn't score. They loaded the bases in the fifth and placed a runner on third base in the the third, but couldn't manage a plate crossing.
In the fifth, the Pirates finally scored and did so initially without hitting a ball out of the infield. A walk, infield single and a bunt single loaded the bases, and another infield base hit brought home the game's first run. Kelsey Downey then singled up the middle to drive in two more runs to make the count 3-0.
Through six innings, the Boxers stranded eight runners on base. In the seventh, they finally broke through with back-to-back doubles by
Trisha Snydar and
Rachel Roberts to plate a run, but the rally would end there and so would the game at 3-1.
Reichard took the loss (10-4) despite having only one bad inning. The Boxers had nine hits in the game including two by Roberts, two by Snydar and two doubles by
Ashley Mitchell.
In game two, Pacific came out swinging and got on the board first. Roberts led off with a double and
Kylee Yamamoto traded places with her after a double of her own.
But Whitworth answered with two runs in the bottom of the first and then iced the game with an eight-run second inning. In that stanza, they had only four hits but also took advantage of two Boxer errors and three walks.
The Pirates would add two more runs before the shortened game ended after five innings.
Pacific had just four hits in the second game against Pirate ace Makayla Lefever, who improved to 9-0 on the season. The hosts had 11 hits on the offensive end, off of four different Pacific pitchers. Morgan Portlock led the way with a 3-for-3 performance and four RBI.
The two teams will resume the series on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for noon.
