WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The offense piled up 19 runs and Reilly Tidwell added a complete game shutout in the opener to help lead the Western Oregon University softball team to a 9-0, five inning win over Concordia (N.Y.) and then a come-from-behind 10-8 win over The College of Saint Rose Friday to open the PFX Tournament.
In the opener, WOU (9-5) jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead over the first two innings and never looked back. In the first frame, Kennedy Coy, Tyler Creach both reached and after a fielder's choice out, Zoie Recolan drove in the first run of the game. Following the second out of the inning, Sydney Bowers hit a two-run double to push WOU out to the 3-0 lead.
"We had a great first day here in Florida and I think everybody contributed to our success," Creach said. "Our pitchers did well and we had clutch hits in both games today. I'm excited to continue our momentum into the rest of the weekend."
In the second, Nicole Miller reached to open the inning and moved to second on a groundout before Coy singled her home. Creach then added an RBI double, before Ayanna Arceneaux hit a shot to second that ended up bringing Creach home for the 6-0 lead.
The Wolves tallied one more in the fourth when Coy and Creach singled to setup an RBI single by Arceneaux to move the lead to 7-0.
In the fifth, WOU put together a two-out rally with Logan Carlos hitting a double after Miller singled before both came home on a ball put in play by Coy to move the lead to 9-0.
Tidwell then slammed the door in the bottom of the fifth getting around a pair of singles to preserve the 9-0 win in five innings.
"I think overall we did a great job at playing to our level today. In the first game, we played really confident and relaxed," Tidwell said. "In the second game, we got shook up for a little bit, but eventually fought back to get the win which is awesome to see. I think our team does a really great job of fighting and competing all the way through the end of every game."
Leading the way on offense was Coy and Arceneaux with a trio of hits each, while Creach added a pair of hits. Bowers drove in a pair of runs. In the circle, Tidwell moved to 3-2 on the season tossing the complete game shutout, allowing just five baserunners and added a pair of strikeouts.
Jordan Bordonaro led Concordia (N.Y.) (0-2) with a pair of hits, while Madison Shura took the loss (0-1) going four innings allowing seven runs.
In the second game, WOU erased an early 6-0 deficit to pull out the victory. Down 6-0 heading into the bottom of the third, the Wolves got the offense cooking. Baylie Kahele singled and then Carlos reached on an error by the pitcher. Following a fielder's choice out, Creach launched a three-run homer to trim the deficit to three at 6-3.
The Golden Knights came back with two runs in the fourth to go back in front 8-3, but that would be the final runs for The College of Saint Rose. In the home half of the fourth, Bowers opened the frame with a single and after Kiley Lynn walked, two outs were recorded before Coy singled to bring in a pair of runs and Creach drove in her fourth run of the game with a single to leave the Golden Knights holding on to an 8-6 lead after four.
WOU pushed back to tie the game at eight in the fifth as Allyson Drury opened the inning with a single and moved to second on an error by the centerfielder. Bowers brought home Drury with a single and after Lynn singled, Kahele reached on a fielder's choice and on the play, an error by the third baseman brought in the tying run leaving the game 8-8 after five.
The Wolves closed the scoring and the comeback in the sixth as Creach singled and then on a single by Arceneaux, an error allowed Creach to score and move Arceneaux to third. Following the second out, Kirah McGlothan singled to push WOU out to the 10-8 lead after six.
Maddie Mayer then shut the door in the seventh working a 1-2-3 inning to pickup her fourth (4-1) win of the season, as she tossed the final three innings to get the win in relief. She allowed just two hits and added five strikeouts. Chandler Bishop started and went the final four innings, allowing three earned runs.
Creach led the offense with three hits and four RBI. Arceneaux, Drury and Bowers added two hits apiece, with Coy added a pair of RBI.
Shannon Moore and Alysa Houghtaling led The College of Saint Rose with three hits apiece, while Savanna Liverio drove in three runs. In the circle, Kylee Warner took the loss (0-1) coming on in relief and allowing two unearned runs in 1.2 innings of work.
WOU will play #12 Saint Anselm starting at 9 a.m. (Pacific) and Davenport at 11:15 a.m. (Pacific) on Saturday to continue the PFX Tournament. Both games will have live stats.
