MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon softball team dropped the final two games of its series with visiting Saint Martin's in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action Sunday. The Wolves were shutout 5-0 in the opener before losing the nightcap 3-2.
WOU falls to 11-25 (8-16 GNAC) with the losses while the Saints improve to 6-22-1 (5-18-1 GNAC) on the year.
Game One
SMU pitcher Joslyn Eugenio scattered five hits over seven innings while the Saints slugged their way to a 5-0 victory.
The Saints came out of the gates hot, loading the bases on a leadoff single, followed by a walk and another single. Morgan Klemm managed to hit one to third base, plating SMU's first run. Kelsie McGladrey would single in the next at-bat, driving in one run and putting SMU up 2-0. After a strikeout, Kristine Kaneshiro hit a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead. Senior
Jessica Wood would replace freshman
Alex Hillmick, striking out the final batter of the inning.
WOU was able to get runners on base in the bottom of the first when senior
Tierra-Lyn Cuba singled. Freshman
Ashley Worthey then reached on a fielder's choice. The Saints committed a pair of errors that allowed Cuba to reach third and Worthey second, but two straight outs left both players stranded.
SMU added a fourth run in the second on an RBI single from Megan Antonovich. Their fifth and final run came in the third behind Tiffany Griffiths' RBI single, the fourth RBI single of the day for the Saints.
Eugenio, meanwhile, was frustrating Western's batters, giving up a total of five hits, only one of which went for extra bases. She fanned three and walked none. The Wolves were able to get runners in scoring position in the third and seventh innings, but Eugenio quickly shut the door, ending each inning with a ground out.
Hillmick (6-9) took the loss for WOU, giving up five hits and four earned runs in 0.2 innings. In 6.1 innings of relief, Wood allowed eight hits and two earned runs while striking out eight batters and walking none.
Freshman Ashley Gardner's double in the seventh was her third two-base hit of the season.
Game Two
The Saints again scored three first-inning runs and a Western comeback fell short as SMU claimed a 3-2 win.
SMU scored all three of its runs in the first inning behind a pair of RBI singles. Joslyn Eugenio drove in the first run before Kristine Kaneshiro scored two runs on a single to center field.
The Wolves managed to load the bases in the bottom of the first after a one-out single from Gardner, a two-out walk from sophomore
Andrea Bailey, and a two-out single from Wood. Western would strike out on its next at-bat, leaving all three runners stranded.
WOU finally broke through in the second inning. Hallmark reached first base on a single before advancing to second on a sacrifice hit from freshman
Tia Misfeldt. Worthey connected on a single up the middle to get Hallmark to third, and an error on SMU's catcher allowed her to cross homeplate, narrowing the Saints' lead to 3-1.
Western scored again in the third on a solo home run from Wood. The shot to left center was Wood's third home run of the season.
The hosts again loaded the bases in the fifth inning after Cuba reached on an error, followed by one-out singles from Wood and Bailey. After an SMU pitching change, a strikeout and a fly out ended the inning.
The bottom of the seventh saw Wood send a two-out double to left field. Bailey added a single in WOU's next at-bat that put Wood on third. After deliberation between Western's coaches, junior
Kelsie Didion made contact with the ball and proceeded to run for first. Wood was able to cross home plate but Didion was called for interference as SMU's catcher was unable to field the ball. The interference resulted in WOU's third and final out, ending the game.
Wood (4-16) started the game in the circle for the Wolves. After a tough first inning, she held SMU to just two hits while striking out three and intentionally walking one. She was replaced with Hillmick two-thirds of the way through the sixth inning.
SMU's Brandi Klemm (3-11) pitched 4.1 innings for the Saints, giving up eight hits and one earned run. She fanned one and walked two. Eugenio replaced her with one down in the bottom of the fifth.
Both Wood (4-for-4) and Bailey (3-for-3) were perfect on the day.
Eugenio paced the Saints with two hits while Kaneshiro tallied two RBIs.
Next Time Out
The Wolves continue their homestand with a visit from GNAC foe Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, April 21. The two teams will meet in a single-day doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m.