MONMOUTH, Ore.—Playing on its home field for the first time in nearly two full years, the Western Oregon University softball team managed a Saturday split against Saint Martin's University.
With the split, Western Oregon moved to 13-10 on the season and 3-3 in GNAC competitions. Saint Martin's ended the day with a 7-10 overall record and a 2-4 mark in league play.
WOU's last appearance on campus was April 20, 2016 when the team swept Concordia in the penultimate weekend of the regular season. The team played 'home' games in Portland, Hillsboro and Corvallis last season with the on-campus facility unplayable due to field conditions.
GAME 1 – Western Oregon def. Saint Martin's, 4-3
The Wolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never trailed en route to a 4-3 win in the opener against the Saints.
After stranding runners in both of the first two innings, WOU got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd with a 2-run blast to center field by Cheyanne Rimer. Batting with two outs, Rimer's homer occurred with Tyler Creach on third after opening the stanza with an infield single.
The Saints threatened to snare the lead in the every next inning by loading the bases against WOU starter Lizzet Dominguez. Issuing three walks, Dominguez allowed a single run on a sacrifice fly by Nicki DeHan, but escaped further damage by forcing a foul-ball popup that was retrieved by WOU catcher Mariah Deleon.
The Wolves added single scores in the 5th and 6th innings before the Saints once again loaded the bases in the 7th. SMU pulled to within a run on a wild pitch but were denied a game-tying scoring chance as Dominguez persuaded a grounder to shortstop to close out the contest.
Deleon recorded an RBI in the 5th for the Wolves while Zoe Clark connected on a solo shot to left to open the 6th for what became the game-winning score.
Improving to 6-2 on the season, Dominguez tossed a complete game with three runs (two earned) on seven hits. The game featured a 1:02 rain delay in the bottom of the first inning.
Game 2 – Saint Martin's def. Western Oregon, 9-3
Scoring the first seven runs of the game, Saint Martin's posted a 9-3 win in the nightcap to secure a split on Saturday.
Already with two runs on the board, the Saints broke the game open in the 4th with a five-run frame. The Saints used three walks and two hits in the inning with Julia Lucas providing the key hit by lifting a 3-run homer to left.
WOU managed to cut into the deficit with three late runs, including a 2-run roundtripper by Zoe Clark in the home half of the 4th.
Lauren Maley earned the win for SMU in a relief appearance. Entering in the 4th, Maley allowed one run on three hits.
