Softball | 4/26/2013 6:52:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Behind solid pitching and timely hitting, the Western Oregon softball team cruised to a pair of victories over Northwest Nazarene on Friday afternoon, winning game one, 8-1, before claiming the doubleheader sweep with a 5-0 win in game two. The wins clinch a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Softball Championship as the Wolves (25-24, 14-8 GNAC) are guaranteed to finish in the top four of the league standings.

"It was a great all around effort by the team today," head coach Lonny Sargent said. "We are playing well at the right time of the season. I thought our pitching was fantastic and it was great to see the hitters step up and have consistent at-bats throughout both games."

WOU opened up the sweep with a seven-run victory in game one as Hannah Pomeroy continued her solid efforts in the circle. The right-hander held NNU to just one run on four hits as she moved to 13-7 on the season with the complete game win.

The Wolves would get all the scoring they needed in the first inning as Amanda Evola doubled home Lexi Orteza to give WOU a 1-0 lead. Evola would eventually come around to score on a throwing error as the Wolves would take a 2-0 lead into the second inning.

After a scoreless second, WOU would score three in the third to break the game open. Evola singled through the right side to score Orteza as Jourdan Williams followed by taking a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall, her eighth home run of the season, to give the Wolves a 5-0 lead.

The Crusaders scored a run in the fourth to cut the lead to four; however, WOU responded with three in the sixth-inning to cap the seven-run victory. After Dani Harcourt scored on a throwing error, Evola drove in her third and fourth runs of the game with a single to right as WOU would go on to claim an 8-1 win.

Evola led the attack, going 3-for-3 with two runs and four RBI while Orteza added two hits and two runs for the Wolves.

Noelle Wright took the loss for NNU as she fell to 5-31 on the year after allowing eight runs on nine hits in six innings of work.

After hitting a home run in game one, Williams was the star in game two, tossing a complete game shutout while allowing only two hits as she moved to 8-9 on the season. The right-hander would strike out four as she tossed her second shutout of the year.

Elaine Sperry would give Williams all the run support she would need as her sacrifice fly to score Bridjet Box in the second inning gave WOU a 1-0 lead.

After Williams helped her own cause by singling home Orteza in the third, Melanie Pfeiffer provided the fireworks as she blasted a two-run home run to right in the fifth inning to give WOU a 4-0 cushion.

Ashley Cashin put the finishing touches on the win with a RBI double in the sixth as WOU would clinch a spot in the league postseason tournament next week while keeping its sights on a possible regular season conference championship.

Wright took the loss for NNU and fell to 5-32 on the season after allowing five runs on nine hits in six innings of work.

Williams and Evola finished the day with 43 and 42 RBI, respectively, on the season as both surpassed the previous single-season school record of 40 (Evola, 2012).

The wins capped a tremendous day for the squad as the doubleheader served as the Wolves annual 'Strike Out Cancer' contests. Through donations on Friday, the Wolves raised $665 to support the WOU Cancer Support Group, an organization created as a way for survivors, caregivers and those affected by cancer at WOU to support each other and share resources.

WOU will look to keep its regular season conference championship hopes alive when the Wolves host Central Washington in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27, at 12:00 p.m.