PORTLAND, Ore.—Led by a 3-hit shutout by Haley Fabian, the Western Oregon softball team captured a GNAC split while playing at Concordia University on Friday.
With the results, Western Oregon moved to 21-19 on the season and remained .500 in conference play at 9-9. Concordia closed the day with a 17-19 overall record and 4-10 mark in GNAC competitions.
The two teams will close out the weekend series on Sunday with a second doubleheader. Opening pitch is set for 12 p.m. at Porter Park.
Game 1: Western Oregon def. Concordia, 3-0
Facing just two batters over the minimum, Haley Fabian tossed her second shutout of the season and third of her career to propel the Wolves to a 3-0 win in the opener.
Fabian allowed three hits while the WOU defense turned a double play and erased a runner on a stolen base attempt as the Cavaliers did not send a runner past second base in the contest. Fabian struck out five and walked just one batter in the seven-inning outing.
Cheyenne Rimer provided the key swing in the game by lifting a 2-run homer to left in the 3rd inning. The homer, Rimer's sixth of the season, came after the Wolves plated a single run in the 2nd when Nikki Miller drove in Zoe Clark with a two-out single.
Game 2: Concordia def. Western Oregon, 7-5
After tying the game with three runs in the 5th, Concordia sent four runners home in the top of the 7th to defeat Western Oregon, 7-5 in the second game of the twinbill at Porter Park.
Trailing 5-3 heading into the final frame, Concordia loaded the bases via an error, a hit batter and a walk. With one out on the board, CU's first run occurred on an infield fly where the runner on third crossed the plate without being tagged in the now non-force out at the dish. Jordan Smith-Imes followed with a 2-run single while Courtney Somers placed a single down the left-field line for the final score.
Down 7-4 in the bottom of the 7th, Western Oregon got one run back on a Zoe Clark solo homer to left. The Wolves placed the tying run at the plate on an Ayanna Arceneaux single, but CU reliever Tori Muir forced a fly out to center for the final out of the game.
Western Oregon outhit the Cavs 13 to 8 in the game but were sabotaged by three errors in the field, resulting in five of the seven runs allowed recorded as unearned.
