FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Pacific let a late lead slip in game one of the doubleheader and Whittier took that momentum into the second half of the twin bill, banging out 16 hits to sweep the two-game series on Sunday afternoon.
Pacific falls to 6-20 overall and their losing streak extends to six games.
Rylee Patton (Senior/Eastvale, CA) was a bright spot for the Boxers as she continued her impressive season at the plate by going 4-for-6 on the day, driving in a couple runs.
Nicole Leadley (Junior/Bothell, WA) enjoyed a three-hit performance on the afternoon.
Sydney Rusin (Junior/Portland, OR) toed the rubber for her fourth start of the year and was nothing short of magnificent, allowing just three hits and one hit in her 6.1 innings of work. She was unlucky to not earn the decision, however, as the Boxers coughed up the lead in the seventh inning.
Game 1
Rusin induced three groundouts for a three-up, three-down first inning to begin her excellent outing in the circle. The Boxers' put runners at the corners in their first turn at the plate, but they would be left stranded to complete the scoreless frame.
Whittier opened the scoring in the second inning after a leadoff base hit would turn into the first run of the game. Both teams came up empty for the next three innings until Pacific went to work in the home half of the fifth.
After back-to-back singles from
Jordan Okumura (Freshman/Mililani, HI) and Leadley,
Annika McNeel's (Senior/Beaverton,OR) groundout would advance to two runners into scoring position. Okumura provided a moment of brilliance, dancing her way out of a rundown to tie the game at 1-1. Patton put the Boxers out in front when her two-out triple scored Leadley from second base.
Rusin's day was done after tossing six innings, surrendering just three hits and one run in her fourth start of the season.
She would hand the ball over to
Taylor Waara (Junior/Kenmore, WA), who was called upon to get the final three outs of the contest. The junior ran into some trouble in the seventh and the Poets rallied for five runs to regain the lead.
Leadley brought Okumura across with her base hit down the left-field line in Pacific's last chance at the plate, and Patton collected her third hit of the day to bring another run home. However, the Poets held on to escape with the 6-4 victory.
Game 2
Lindsey Greenfield (Sophomore/Mukilteo, WA) got the nod to make her sixth start of year. Whittier used five hits to tab her for three runs in the top of the first, taking a commanding lead in the second game of the day.
The Poets enjoyed an identical second inning to double their advantage, scoring three runs on five hits to make the score 6-0. Pacific replied with a run in the home half when
Haylie Uetake (Senior/Ewa Beach, HI) scored Leadley with a groundout.
Whittier tacked on two in the fourth and one more in the fifth to close out the doubleheader, taking a 9-1 win back to Southern California.
Up Next
The Boxers return to Northwest Conference play on April 2 when they travel to Tacoma, Wash. to face Puget Sound. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
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