Softball | 4/15/2012 3:03:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 [Game 1 box score] [Game 2 box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Western Oregon saw its eight-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 loss in the opener, but still got a doubleheader split against Western Washington on Sunday (Apr. 15) as they Wolves came back to win game two 5-2.

Western Oregon (17-22, 13-13 GNAC) completed its eight games in five day stretch with a 7-1 record. WOU has now won nine of its last 10 and 11 of its last 13. The hot streak has allowed the Wolves to move within 2.5 games of third-place Saint Martin's, and four of second-place Simon Fraser.

Game 1
Western Washington pushed across a run in the first and two in the fifth and a pair of Vikings pitchers made it hold up in a 3-2 win.

Trailing 1-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, Western Oregon got a triple from Dani Harcourt and a sacrifice fly from Hannah Pomeroy to tie the game. After WWU tacked on two in the top of the fifth WOU cut the lead back to one when Ashlie Gardner stole home.

Western Oregon would load the bases in the sixth but the Vikings went to reliever Devyn Baker who got out of the jam. Baker picked up the save going the final 1.1 innings allowing just one hit. Janelle Kasch earned the win as she went the first 5.2 innings allowing four hits and two earned runs while walking five.

Dani Harcourt went 2-for-2 with a triple and a run scored for the Wolves.

Game 2
Ashley Worthey had three hits and Ashlie Gardner drove in two runs to lead Western Oregon to a 5-2 win in game two.

Worthey and Gardner helped the Wolves take a 3-0 lead in the second inning, a lead they would never relinquish. Worthey followed up a leadoff single by Jourdan Williams with a single of her own, and after Williams scored on an infield single by Hannah Pomeroy, Worthey came in to score along with Dani Harcourt on an opposite field single by Gardner.

Brittany Reeves (5-3), who would earn her fifth straight win, pitched into the sixth inning, giving up nine hits but just two runs. In the sixth the first two runners of the inning reached base and Western Oregon head coach Pam Knox went to the bullpen for Myranda Sawyer. Sawyer came into the game and walked the first batter she faced on four pitches before going on to strike out the next three batters in order to protect the Wolves' 3-2 lead.

WOU would add two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth on RBI singles by Jourdan Williams and Worthey to extend its lead to 5-2. Sawyer then finished off the Vikings with a scoreless seventh to pick up the first save of her career.

Williams and Kendra George both had two hits for Western Oregon which outhit WWU 11-9. The Vikings also left 11 runners on compared to just five for WOU.


"We would always like to win all four on a weekend," said Western Oregon head coach Pam Knox, "but we came back in the second game today and played much better. We had better run production and we got outstanding pitching from Brittany and Myranda."

"If we sputter a little it is because we aren't executing the short game," explained Knox. "We did well with it in the second game after struggling with productive outs in the first game. Everyone is contributing, and we are playing good fundamental softball right now and our pitching is keeping us in there."

Next games
Western Oregon will close out its home schedule next week with a pair of home doubleheaders. WOU will host Montana State Billings on Thursday, Apr. 19, at 1:00 p.m., and Saint Martin's on Saturday. Apr. 21, at Noon.