FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Pacific Softball held the lead in both contests on Friday night at Sherman/Larkins Stadium but George Fox edged the Boxers in two one-run ballgames to sweep the doubleheader.
Pacific held the lead going into the seventh inning of game one and they were just one out away from taking the series opener. The visitors rallied for three runs in the final frame to steal the first game of the series. In game two, the Boxers jumped out to a 3-1 lead. However, the Bruins would put together a four-run fifth inning to surge out in front, eventually taking that contest 5-4.
Michelle Winfield (Junior/Beaverton, OR) was 2-for-4 on the night with an RBI and two runs scored. The junior reached base four times over the two games.
MiKaila Neilson (Junior/Frenchtown, MT) drove in two runs in her 2-for-4 performance in the first game of the night.
Sydney Rusin (Junior/Portland, OR) and
Annika McNeel (Senior/Beaverton, OR) recorded two hits each.
Game 1
After a scoreless first frame, the Bruins threatened when they put runners on second and third with just one out. Neilson made a fantastic play to get her team out of the jam, snagging a line drive and doubling up the runner on third.
The Boxers would carry this momentum into the second inning when they put up a crooked number to take the lead. Rusin led off the inning with a solid single up the middle and
Carli Zanassi (Freshman/Bothell, WA) would reach on an error. Neilson would step to plate and deliver a two-RBI base hit to opening the scoring.
Jordan Okumura (Freshman/Mililani, HI) kept the line moving by ripping a line drive to left-field line and McNeel made it a four-run advantage when she smacked the Boxers' fourth hit of the inning to bring two runners around to score.
Rylee Patton (Senior/Eastvale, CA) was in the circle for Pacific and cruised through three innings until she surrendered a solo home run in the top of the fourth, making the score 4-1. In the top half of the fifth, George Fox's Kimberly Pulido hit a two-run homer to bring her team within one.
The Boxers added an insurance run in the sixth when Samantha Pettit (Junior/Tigard, OR) scored Okumura with a sacrifice fly.
Rusin came on to relieve Patton and tossed 2.1 innings without allowing a run. Pacific was one out away from taking the series opener but an error would prolong the inning. One run would score on the error and on the following at-bat, George Fox's Sharon Tomei would give the visitors a 6-5 lead with a two-run blast.
The Boxers put runners on the corners in the final frame but the Bruins escaped with the one-run victory
Game 2
George Fox struck first in the second game of the night, taking a 1-0 lead in the top half of the second.
Pacific immediately answered with a three-spot in the bottom half.
Nicole Leadley (Junior/Bothell, WA) and Okumura mashed back-to-back doubles to even the score. Winfield made it three consecutive doubles, bringing Okumura around to score and giving the hosts the lead. McNeel came through with the fourth hit of the inning to make the score 3-1 going into the third.
Lindsey Greenfield (Sophomore/Mukilteo, WA), starting pitcher for game two, surrendered just one hit through four innings but the Bruins would tab her for four runs in the fifth inning to regain the lead.
Winfield led off the sixth with a double over the centerfielder's head and later scored on a
Jordyn Moullet-Dozier (Sophomore/Sherwood, OR) RBI groundout to cut the deficit to just one run.
Pacific was unable to tie the game in the final inning and the Bruins would walk away with both wins on the first day of the series.
Up Next
The Boxers are back at Sherman/Larkins Stadium tomorrow afternoon for a doubleheader to conclude the series with George Fox. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
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