LAS VEGAS, Nev. – For the second day in a row, Western Oregon University's softball team went head-to-head with a pair of nationally-ranked teams and came away on the wrong end of the stick falling to No. 14-ranked Augustana College (S.D.), 12-5, before dropping the nightcap to No. 19-ranked Humboldt State, 11-9, as part of the 6th Annual Desert Stinger hosted by Montana State Billings Saturday at Majestic Park.

Junior Brandy Knowles and sophomore Kelsie Gardner combined to register four hits for Western Oregon (2-8), while junior Alyson Boytz went the distance in the opener allowing 12 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits with a game-high four strikeouts. Against Humboldt State, senior Jourdan Williams started the game and went the first 3.0 innings allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits before turning the ball over to the bullpen that consisted of freshman Emma Alfonso, freshman Lizzet Dominguez, and sophomore Sammi Cadwallader. The Wolves' bullpen allowed a combined seven earned runs on nine hits with Cadwallader suffering the loss despite pitching on 0.2 innings.

GAME #1 — #14 AUGUSTANA 12, WESTERN OREGON 5

In the Wolves' opener on Saturday, Augustana scored eight unanswered runs over the opening four innings until Western Oregon put a pair of runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning on three hits that included RBI hits by Williams and sophomore Ku'ulei Siolo.

Western Oregon would pull within five runs (8-3) in the bottom of the fifth inning when Knowles drove home senior Amanda Evola after she registered a two-out single through the right side.

Augustana would answer with four runs in the top of the sixth inning on three hits, as the Vikings pull ahead by nine runs (12-3).

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Western Oregon would score its final two runs via a two-run double by Gardner that scored Dominguez and sophomore Destiny Kuehl as the Wolves closed the gap to seven runs (12-5).

Unfortunately that would be as close as WOU would get, as Augustana did not allow a Wolves' runner past second base in the final inning en route to securing the 12-5 victory.

GAME #2 — #19 HUMBOLDT STATE 11, WESTERN OREGON 9

In Saturday's finale, Western Oregon jumped out to an 8-2 lead after the first two innings with Gardner registering a two-run home run in the top of the first inning before Knowles capped a seven-run second inning with a three-run bomb for her team-leading third home run of the season.

Neither team would score again until the bottom of the fourth inning when Humboldt State took advantage of a three-run home run by Julie Pena to pull within two runs (8-6).

In the top of the fifth inning, Western Oregon would tack one more run to its total thanks to a RBI by sophomore Ashley Radzuik as the Wolves pushed its lead to three runs (9-6).

Humboldt State would take advantage of Pena's second home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as the Lumberjacks pulled within a single run (9-8) on Pena's two-run home run over the center field fence.

In the sixth inning, Western Oregon would leave the bases loaded in the top half before Humboldt State capitalized on a pair of home runs by Breonna Bejaran and Hanna Holland in the bottom half of the frame to pull in front by a score of 11-9.

Western Oregon would get a single off the bat of Radzuik in the top of the seventh inning, but the Wolves could not move the second-year Wolf any closer to home plate as WOU suffered a heart-breaking 11-9 loss at the hands of HSU marking the second time this weekend that Western Oregon had fallen in the late innings of a game.

The Wolves close out play at the 6th Annual Desert Stinger tomorrow – Sunday, February 15 – with a pair of games against the University of Texas-Permian Basin and Regis College beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Majestic Park in Las Vegas, Nevada.