After a pair of tough losses to open the season the Boxer softball team got in the win column over the weekend splitting a four-game series with Warner Pacific. 

The series didn't lack for action as all four games were decided by one run each with clutch plays from each team throughout the series. On Saturday the Boxers claimed game one 3-2 but fell by the same score 3-2 in the second contest. Sunday saw the Boxers take game one on a walk-off hit, while their comeback in game two came up short as Boxers fell 11-10. 

Game 1
After a pair of scoreless innings to open the contest it was Warner Pacific taking the early 1-0 lead but the Boxers responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Warner Pacific managed to tie the game with a run in the top of the fifth but the Boxers pushed the lead back in their favor off a Hailey Miller RBI single scoring Nicole Martinez in the bottom of the fifth. The 3-2 advantage held up and the Boxers earned the win in the first game of the series. 

Jill Uyeda led the Boxer offense registering two of the team's five hits in the win, while Allie Hancock was strong inside the circle tossing all seven innings giving up just two runs on five hits and four walks while striking out eight. 

Game 2
Boxers got on the board first in game two as Montana Vaught doubled to left-center field to bring in Martinez making it 1-0 Pacific. Warner Pacific swung the lead their way behind a solo home run and an RBI double in the top of the third to make it 2-1 and then tacked on another run in the top of the seventh to lead 3-1. Down to the final three outs of the contest, the Boxers looked for the comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Uyeda led the inning off with a double and Sydney Sahlfeld followed with a single then Marcee Nakamura hit a fly ball to right deep enough to score Uyeda from third to make it a one-run game. The Boxers however would only get one in the seventh as Warner Pacific induced a double play on the next play to finish the game handing Pacific the 3-2 loss. 

Vaught went 2-3 with an RBI and double to highlight the Boxers offensively in the loss, while Carly Bursch tossed a solid four and third innings of relief giving up just one run on one hit and two walks while striking out eight. 

Game 3
Early offense helped set the tone for the third game of the series between the Boxers and the Knights and it was the Boxers doing the scoring early with two runs in the first and another in the second. Up 3-0 Pacific made it 5-0 on a two-RBI single by Vaught in the fifth and after each team tallied a run in the sixth the Boxers led 6-1 entering the seventh inning. In the top of the seventh, the bats for Warner Pacific came alive recording a three-run home run, a two-RBI double, and another RBI double to plate six runs and take their first lead of the day at 7-6. Now the Boxers had to answer in the bottom of the seventh and they did. Working the bases loaded with two-outs Sydney Sahlfeld stepped to the plate and laced a double into the outfield to bring in two runs and lift the Boxers the 8-7 win. 

Vaught had another strong game going 2-3 with two RBI, and two runs scored, while Kiana Kushiyama and Nicole Martinez each recorded two hits. 

Game 4
The final game of the series provided plenty of offense early for both teams as each team plated a run in the first inning but then Warner Pacific took control behind a big eight-run outburst in the top of the second. Boxers did their best to stay in the game answering with four runs in the bottom of the second and got two more in the fourth and fifth innings and one more in the sixth, but Warner Pacific added two more of their own in the fifth to allow them to snag the 11-10 win and split the four-game series. 

Kushiyama and Nakamura each had a strong showing at the plate in the loss each registering three hits. Nakamura had a double and added an RBI, while Kushiyama had two RBI's and three runs scored. Hailey Uetake recorded a two-hit game and Vaught blasted her first home run of the season. 

The four-game series split saw the Boxers pick up their first wins of the season and move to 2-4 on the year. Pacific will be back in action on Saturday, March 6th at home in a non-conference doubleheader with Willamette starting a noon.