SALEM, Ore.- The Pacific University softball team took the second game of the twin bill on Sunday afternoon to split the weekend series with Willamette.
Pacific (6-14, 5-7 NWC) found success at the plate in the series finale. In that game, the Boxers exploded for 13 runs on 13 hits.
Willamette (7-12, 5-9 NWC) came out firing on all cylinders in game one, scoring four of their six runs in the third inning.
Nicole Leadley (Junior/Bothell, WA) led the Boxer offense, going 3-for-6 over the two games. She was also responsible for three runs scored, all coming in the second game.
Sydney Rusin (Junior/Portland, OR) pitched a complete game in game two after pitching 2.1 innings in game one. In 9.1 innings, Rusin only allowed four earned runs and seven hits.
Game 1
The Boxers and Bearcats played a scoreless first two innings. The hosts were able to get two runners on base in the bottom of the first but
Lindsey Greenfield (Sophomore/Mukilteo, WA) was able to get out of the jam.
The game was still scoreless in the bottom of the third when Willamette put up four runs, including a three-run homerun to left field.
The Bearcats stretched the lead to 6-0 before the Boxers showed some life offensively, scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Rylee Patton (Senior/Eastvale, CA) was able to produce the run with a double just out of reach of the centerfielder. The extra base hit scored Rusin from first base.
However, the Boxers would run out of outs and dropped game one by the score of 6-1.
Game 2
The Boxers came into game two of the day and the fourth of the series ready to strike right away on offense. Rusin provided the first run of the game with an RBI groundout to the first baseman. Patton would step to the plate next and tally another RBI with her groundout to the shortstop, pushing the Boxers lead to 2-0.
The hosts would respond with a run of their own in the bottom of the first. The Boxers would come to bat again in the top of the second and score two more runs following a
Michelle Winfield (Junior/Beaverton, OR) double.
Annika McNeel (Senior/Beaverton, OR) then scored Winfield with a ground ball to the second baseman.
The score would stay at 4-1 when the Boxer offense exploded again in the top of the fourth with four runs on three hits. McNeel accounted for two RBI's with a single up the middle with the bases loaded.
Samantha Petitt (Junior/Tigard, OR) tallied an RBI with another single up the middle and Rusin produced the final RBI with another groundout.
Pacific would put the game away, recording five more runs on the way to the 13-4 win to split the four-game set.
Up Next
The Boxers head to Spokane, Wash. on Tuesday afternoon to begin their four-game series against Whitworth. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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