SALEM, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College softball saw their playoff hopes dashed in game one and ultimately fell in both ends of their final road doubleheader of the season on Saturday at Willamette University Softball Field.
THE BASICS
Willamette 5, Lewis & Clark 4
Willamette 3, Lewis & Clark 2
(Lewis & Clark 18-18, Northwest Conference 10-16)
(Willamette 15-21, NWC 10-16)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Willamette used a four-run bottom of the sixth to grab the lead in game one and held on to end the Pioneers' playoff chances and snap a 12-game losing streak of their own. Lewis & Clark had been mathematically eliminated from NWC playoff contention minutes earlier, when Whitworth used a three-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh to defeat George Fox 6-5 in game one.
Mari Alvarez,
Riley Anderson,
Madison Scroggins and
Sam Gildersleeve each had 3 hits to lead Lewis & Clark on the day. In the circle,
Charlize Pope pitched 3.1 innings across the two games and scattered one hit and two walks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lewis & Clark recorded 14 hits but stranded 12 baserunners and Willamette used a late comeback to earn a 5-4 game one win.
Alvarez was one of seven Pioneers to finish the game with two hits. Her first hit of the day marked her 100
th hit as a Lewis & Clark player. She finished the game 2-5 with a double.
Anderson went 2-4 with a solo home run and freshman
Emily Patton added two hits, a double, a run scored and an RBI.
McKenna Zehnder (one RBI),
Kalea Kaui (one walk), Gildersleeve (one run), Scroggins (one double) each added two hits.
In the circle, senior
Alyssa Abe pitched into the sixth inning before running into trouble. She ended the game allowing four hits and two earned runs in 5+ innings. Pope was the second reliever out of the pen and scattered one hit in one inning of work.
After going down 1-0 in the first, Lewis & Clark tied the game in the second. Gildersleeve led off with a single, stole second, took third on a sac bunt and scored on Zehnder's RBI single through the middle with one out.
Despite the Pioneers recording a hit in every inning, the score would stay 1-1 until the sixth. Lewis & Clark took a 4-1 lead in the sixth thanks to four hits and three wild pitches.
Alvarez started the rally with a one-out double and her pinch-runner,
Katie Ingersoll, easily scored when Patton followed with a double of her own. With two outs, Patton took third on a wild pitch and scored when the Bearcats pitcher uncorked a second wild pitch. Anderson made it 4-1 when she crushed her team-leading 12
thhome run of the season. Scroggins followed with a double and took third on a wild pitch but would be stranded there.
The hosts answered with four runs of their own thanks to three hits and a pair of errors. The damage could have been greater but
Alyssa Hoeke and Patton connected on a perfect relay throw to retire a runner trying to score from second on the go-ahead hit.
Freshman pinch hitter
Lola Jarrette reached with two outs in the top of the seventh on a walk but Jordyn Johnson induced a fly out to end the contest.
GAME TWO
Willamette grabbed a 3-0 lead after four innings and held off a late Pioneer charge to earn the sweep.
Lewis & Clark was limited to just four singles by Willamette ace Kenna Davis. Alvarez, Anderson, Scroggins and Gildersleeve recorded the four Lewis & Clark hits.
In the circle, freshman
Tallulah Sickels was the tough-luck loser. She allowed six hits, three walks and three runs (two earned) over 3.2 innings. Pope came on for the final 2.1 innings and limited the hosts to two walks.
After leaving four runners through the first three innings, Willamette took the lead in the third. With two outs, the Bearcats recorded a single and then a double and a run came in when the Pioneers threw the ball away on a run down between third and home.
The hosts added two more runs in the fourth. They loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit by pitch and Marykate Deluca came through with a two-out, two-run single to make it 3-0.
Lewis & Clark responded in the fifth. Gildersleeve led off with a single, stole second, took third on a sac bunt and scored on a Zehnder ground ball, when Gildersleeve beat the throw home. With two outs and Ingersoll on second, Alvarez laced a single to left to make it 3-2.
The Pioneers managed just one baserunner over the final two innings and couldn't come up with an extra-base hit to tie the game.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Despite missing out on the NWC Tournament, Lewis & Clark still has a chance to become only the third team in program history to win 20 or more games in a single-season on Sunday. The Pioneers need one win to finish third all-time for wins in a single-season.
- Alvarez has recorded 27 or more hits in all three of her collegiate seasons. She is one hit away from tying her career-high for hits in a season (38) that she set as a sophomore.
- Pope reached the 20 appearance mark of the season on Saturday. The Pioneers top reliever has now appeared in 21 of the team's 36 games. She is first on the team among qualified pitchers in ERA (3.98) and tied with freshman Maggie O'Leary for the team lead in strikeouts (46).
- With her three hits, Anderson moved into the top-10 in program history for a single-season in hits. Her 42 hits are tied for ninth all-time.
WHAT'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark softball will host Willamette University on Sunday for the final two games of their 2023 season. The Pioneers will honor their four seniors prior to game one. Sunday's doubleheader will now start at Noon due to rain in the forecast.
