BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Oregon softball team ran away with a 10-1 victory over Western Washington in game one of their doubleheader at Viking Field before suffering a heartbreaking loss, 1-0 in walk-off fashion in the night cap to begin their final road trip of the season.
In a battle for positioning in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Western Oregon (25-14, 13-9 GNAC) came into the day trailing Western Washington (25-14, 14-8 GNAC) by one game and held that position with the doubleheader split.
Game one didn't begin looking like the blowout it would turn into, with just one run scoring between the two teams over the first four innings.
Western's
Allyson Drury singled to left to score
Sydney Bowers in the second inning to open up the scoring. Drury finished the game 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI to go along with a walk. Bowers was 3-for-3, the only three-hit game for either side, with three runs and two RBI.
Chandler Bishop (3-4) threw a complete game for the win, allowing one unearned run on five hits and striking out one batter in the start.
Leading 1-0 going to the top of the fifth, the Wolves blew the doors off Bellingham with nine runs on eight hits, aided by two errors in the frame. Drury homered to center to bring in Bowers again on a two-run blast to get things going.
Five batters had RBI-producing base hits in the inning.
Mariah Deleon singled up the middle to score
Ryanne Whitaker and make it a 5-0 lead, but Western was nowhere near done. Bowers doubled to right-center in her second at-bat of the frame to bring in two more runs for WOU.
Ayanna Arceneaux's RBI single to center capped the scoring to make it a 10-0 advantage.
The Vikings produced one unearned run in the bottom of the fifth, but it would not be enough to avoid the game-shortened loss.
Game two proved a defensive battle with
Maddie Mayer and Shearyna Labasan both taking shutouts into the seventh. Mayer (9-3) has given up one or fewer earned runs in six of her last seven appearances dating back to March 29 against Cal State East Bay.
With a 0-0 game heading to the bottom of the seventh, Emily Benson homered to lead off the inning and give the Vikings a walk-off victory. It was Benson's third hit of the game, finishing 3-for-3.
It was Western Oregon's fourth one-run loss of the season and the second time they have been dealt a 1-0 defeat.
Outfielder
Kennedy Coy went 2-for-3 in game two, finishing with four combined hits over the two games. She had the only multi-hit game for WOU in the night cap.
Mayer finished the day with 6.0+ innings of work, allowing one run on six hits, not issuing a walk and striking out seven. The seven strikeouts ties her season-high and is the second time in her last three appearances she has hit that mark.
The Wolves now travel to Simon Fraser for a doubleheader Saturday, April 20. First pitch from Burnaby in game one is set for 12 p.m. PDT.
