The Pacific University softball team split a doubleheader with Puget Sound, winning game one 3-2 and dropping the nightcap, 7-5 on Sunday afternoon.
The Boxers (14-9, 8-7 NWC) rallied to tie the game in the sixth and got the winning run in the seventh on a RBI single by Katelyn Macatis-Smith. With the win, Pacific improves to 8-1 in one-run games in 2018.
To set up the comeback win, Pacific overcame an early 2-0 deficit. A two-RBI single by
Montana Vaught scored
Haley Kodama and
Trisha Snydar. Earlier in the inning,
Hailey Miller singled to left; then Snydar hit a single to deep left field to put runners on first and second for Kodama, who reached on a fielder's choice. With runners on first and second, Vaught ripped a single to the gap between left and center to score a hustling Snydar and Kodama to tie the game at 2.
In the seventh,
Becca Bernard led off the inning with a bunt single. Back-to-back ground outs by the Boxers moved Bernard to second and third, respectively. Then, Macatis-Smith lofted a bloop single just in front of the Loggers' right fielder for the walk-off win.
The nightcap saw Puget Sound score four times in the first and one more in the second to hold off a late rally by Pacific en route to a 7-5 win over the host Boxers. Pacific nearly rallied for its second-straight walk-off win in the loss.
Facing a five-run deficit in the third, Pacific got on the scoreboard on a solo home run by
Montana Vaught and a RBI single by
Jill Uyeda, who brought in
Nicole Martinez from second, who had reached on a two-out single. A sacrifice fly by Macatis-Smith in the fifth inning cut the lead to two, 5-3.
The Loggers added a run to its lead in the sixth for a 6-3 advantage before the Boxers mounted a threat in its half of the inning. Pacific loaded the bases without an out before the Loggers got out of the jam and kept the Boxers off the scoreboard. Puget Sound added a run to stretch the lead to 7-3 in the top of the seventh.
The Boxers managed to rally to score twice on a pair of RBI ground outs for the final margin. Despite the loss, Pacific had 10 hits for its seventh game on the season with double-digit hits to raise the team batting average to a .308 clip. Martinez stole a season-high three bases in the loss.
Next, Pacific will host a four-game series against Lewis & Clark. The series is scheduled to begin on Friday, Mar. 30 with a doubleheader at 12 noon at Sherman-Larkins Stadium.
Photos by Tyler Kanoa by
Pacific Boxers on Exposure.
