The Pacific University softball team split a doubleheader with Lewis & Clark, winning game one by a 9-5 margin and dropping the nightcap, 9-7.
Game one saw the Boxers pound out 14 hits including three from
Montana Vaught, who hit two home runs in the win. Plus, three teammates –
Hailey Miller,
Taylor Nishimura and
Kiana Kushiyama – each had two hits as well as
Nicole Martinez and
Kaitlynn Donaca each had two RBI.
Facing a 3-2 deficit in the fourth inning, the Boxers scored six runs to regain the lead and take an 8-3 lead. Among the big blows in the inning were a two-RBI triple by Donaca and a two-run home run – her second of the day - by Vaught. The last time that Pacific had a player hit multiple home runs in a game was when
Hailey Miller hit a pair against George Fox on April 20, 2018.
A RBI ground out by Martinez extended the Boxers lead to 9-3 in the fifth inning. Lewis & Clark managed a run in each of the final two innings for the final margin.
Boxers' reliever
Cheyenne Datan pitched 4.2 innings of relief for the win, scattering seven hits and three runs (all earned).
The offense continued in game two for Pacific with 11 hits but it was a pair of three-run home runs and a three-run first inning that led the host Pioneers to the victory. The Boxers' Katelyn Macatis-Smith had three hits to lead the offense, plus
Kaitlynn Donaca and
Hailey Miller each had two hits.
Montana Vaught and
Hailey Miller had two RBI in the loss.
After finding themselves down 3-0 in the first inning, the Boxers came back to tie it with three in its half of the second inning.
Hailey Miller led off the inning with a solo home run to get things started for Pacific. A RBI double by
Taylor Nishimura and a RBI ground out by
Kiana Kushiyama tied the game at 3.
Lewis & Clark regained the lead in its half of the second on a three-run home run. Then, they added to their lead with its three-run home run home run in the fourth but there remained a lot of fight in the Boxer dugout.
The Boxers'
Montana Vaught double down the left-field line, plated Donaca and Martinez to cut the deficit to 9-5 in the fifth. Then, back to back RBI singles by
Hailey Miller and Katelyn Macatis-Smith made it a two-run game, 9-7. Pacific mounted a late threat in the sixth when Donaca tripled to the gap in right-center field with two out. However, the Boxers left her stranded on third and the Pioneers retired Pacific in order in the seventh to close out the game.
The two teams will resume the series with a twinbill on Sunday at the Hutson Sports Complex in Portland.
