PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College softball rallied from an early 5-1 deficit but eventually saw their program-record winning streak come to an end in a 9-6 loss to George Fox University on Friday afternoon at the Huston Sports Complex. 
 
THE BASICS
George Fox 9, Lewis & Clark 6
(Lewis & Clark 16-9, Northwest Conference 8-7) 
(George Fox 15-10, Northwest Conference 8-5) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The first game had a playoff-like atmosphere with the momentum shifting back-and-forth and both teams coming through with huge plays throughout the contest. 
 
Game two was halted in the bottom of the second inning after the intermittent rain became a steady downpour. The contest was stopped with the Bruins leading 6-1 in the bottom of the second with McKenna Zehnder on second base with one out. 
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Sophomore Riley Anderson and junior Mari Alvarez each hit home runs but the Bruins scored three runs over the final two innings to end the Pioneers nine-game winning streak. 
 
Anderson went 3-4 in the contest and finished a triple shy of the cycle. She added two runs scored and two RBI. 
 
Alvarez was the only other Pioneer with multiple hits. Alvarez went 2-3 with one run, one RBI, a double and a home run. 
 
Three Pioneers pitchers appeared in the contest. Freshman Charlize Pope made her second start of the season and pitched well for the opening three innings before running into command trouble in the fourth. She went 3.2 innings and allowed three hits, five walks and five earned runs. Pope added six strikeouts. Fellow freshman Maggie O'Leary went 2.2 innings and scattered five hits, four runs and one walk, while striking out three. Senior Alyssa Abe went the final 0.2 innings and gave up one hit. 
 
Alvarez gave the Pioneers the lead in the bottom of the first when she hit her fourth home run of the week with a long fly to left. 
 
George Fox evened the score in the top of the second when Aliya Harmon hit a homer to center. 
 
The Bruins grabbed a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth thanks to four walks, one hit by pitch and two hits. George Fox took a 3-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk and hit by pitch, before Reagan Medina hit a two-run, two-out single to make it 5-1. 
 
Lewis & Clark immediately responded. Alvarez doubled off the top of the wall in center to lead off the inning. One batter later it was 5-3, as Anderson blasted her 10^th home run of the season over the left field fence. 
 
The Pios evened the score in the fifth thanks to three Bruins miscues. Pinch runner Gina Ozuna scored the first run of the inning when the Bruins pitcher fielded a comeback and threw it past the first baseman and out of play. Lainey Honma, who reached on the error, took third on a passed ball and came in to score on a dropped pop up. Bruins reliever Kami Gibson got out of the jam when she induced a line-drive double play to end the inning. 
 
George Fox retook the lead in the top of the sixth on a Kamryn Potter two-run homer. 
 
Lewis & Clark responded in the bottom of the inning. Anderson led off with a line-drive double and took third on a Kalea Kaui single. The Pioneers scored on the next at-bat, when Anderson raced home on a delayed double steal. 
 
The Bruins tacked on two key insurance runs in the seventh. With two runners in scoring position and one out, Mikaelie Sullivan came through with a pinch-hit RBI single and the Bruins tacked on a second run on an RBI groundout. 
 
Lewis & Clark put two runners on in the bottom of the inning but Gibson closed out the game with a groundout to shortstop. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Friday's loss snapped a streak of eight-straight wins for the Pioneers to start the season at the Huston Sports Complex. 
• Anderson is the fifth player in program history to hit double-digit home runs in a singles-season. Her 10 home runs are tied for second-most in a single-season. 
• Lewis & Clark pitching posted nine strikeouts but also issued six walks and hit three batters in the game one loss. 
• Anderson also moved into second-place in program history for RBI in a single-season. Her 37 runs batted in are second behind only Hannah Dal Pra's 2013 season when she finished with 43.  

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
The Pioneers and Bruins are set to resume the series on Saturday at the Huston Sports Complex. They will resume the halted game at 2 p.m., with Game 3 of the series set to start 20-30 minutes after the conclusion of game 2.