FOREST GROVE, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College earned a 9-0 mercy-rule win in game one on Sunday to secure their second-consecutive Northwest Conference series victory to open conference play. 
 
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 9, Pacific 0 (5 Innings) 
Pacific 7, Lewis & Clark 5
(Lewis & Clark 13-7, NWC 7-1) 
(Pacific 7-13, NWC 3-5) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Maggie O'Leary and Sofia Garcia combined for a two-hit shutout in game one and the Pioneers raced out to a 4-0 lead in game two, before a late Boxers rally helped the hosts avoid a four-game sweep. 
 
Senior Mari Alvarez led the offense with three hits, one run and two RBI on the afternoon.
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark used two big innings and dominant pitching to secure the series victory and improve to 7-0 in NWC play to start the season. 
 
O'Leary earned her fourth win in four NWC starts and moved to 6-3 overall. She threw the opening four innings and limited the Boxers to two hits and one walk, while striking out two. Garcia came on for the fifth and did not allow a hit or a walk in a scoreless inning. 
 
Sophomore Emily Patton went a perfect 3-3 with two runs scored and an RBI to lead the Pioneers hitters. Freshman Harper Campanella added two hits and an RBI and sophomore Gina Ozuna and Alvarez each pitched in two RBI. 
 
Sunday's game one had the makings of a pitcher's duel through the opening two innings. Patton singled with out in the top of the first and stole second but was stranded there. Pacific put two runners on with one out in the bottom of the inning, but O'Leary retired the next two batters. 
 
In the third inning, O'Leary sparked the offense herself. The sophomore pitcher recorded her first collegiate hit with a leadoff double. Alyssa Hoeke put runners on the corners when she reached on an error. Ozuna broke the deadlock with a two-run triple to right field to make it 2-0. Patton followed with an RBI single to center and she raced home on a Campanella RBI single to right to push the lead to 4-0. With two outs, Madison Scroggins drove in Sam Gildersleeve with an RBI single to right field. 
 
The Pioneers pitching and defense kept the game at 5-0 thanks to a 1-2-3 bottom of the third and an inning ending double-play in the fourth.
 
Lewis & Clark reached the eight-run lead they needed to end the game early in the fifth inning. Patton and Campanella opened the frame with back-to-back singles. After a fielder's choice put runners at the corners with one out, Alvarez delivered a two-run double to left to plate Patton and Gildersleeve. With two down, freshman Makena Dahir pinch hit and singled to right field to score pinch runner Lola Jarrette to make it 8-0. Hoeke capped off the frame with an RBI single to center that scored Dahir. 
 
Garcia came on for the fifth and saw the first runner reach on an error. She retired the next batter on a fielder's choice and then induced a game-ending double play ball to Ozuna at second to close out the contest. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark jumped out to a lead for the fourth-straight game but the hosts scored five runs in their final two at-bats to stop the Pioneers from posting a four-game sweep. 
 
Sophomore McKenna Zehnder and Alvarez each contributed two hits. Zehnder went 2-2 with a double and a run scored and Alvarez added two hits in three at-bats with a run scored. Campanella blasted her team-leading fifth home run of the season and sophomore Katie Ingersoll chipped in with a double and an RBI. 
 
Freshman Sofia Garcia made her first collegiate start in the circle in game four of the series. Garcia went 2.2 innings and scattered five hits and two earned runs. Sophomore Tallulah Sickels came on for the next 1.2 innings and allowed three hits and three runs (two earned). Sophomore Charlize Pope took the loss after going 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and two runs allowed. Pope struck out three and walked two. 
 
Pacific's Abby Surowiec earned the win in relief. She went the final five innings and held the Pioneers to just three hits and one run scored. 
 
Lewis & Clark took the lead in the top of the first. Ozuna was hit by a pitch but the Boxers used a double play to clear the bases. Campanella made it 1-0 with a homer to dead center field. 
 
The Pioneers extended their advantage to 4-0 in the second. Alvarez led off the frame with a single and moved to third on a one-out Zehnder double. Both runners scored on a Boxers error off a grounder from sophomore Cami Restagno. Ingersoll made it 4-0 when she drove in Restagno with an RBI double to left. 
 
The Boxers began their comeback in the third. With two outs and a runner on third, Pacific used back-to-back RBI hits to cut the deficit to 4-2 and end Garcia's outing. Sickels retired the first batter she faced to strand a runner at second. 
 
Lewis & Clark pushed the lead back to 5-2 in the fifth. Gildersleeve reached on a two-out hit by pitch and raced home on an Alvarez base hit to right field. 
 
Pacific took their first lead of the series in the bottom of the inning. With one down, three-straight batters reached on a single, error and single to make it 5-3. Chloe Knepp made the Pioneers pay with a three-run homer to give Pacific a 6-5 lead. 
 
Sophomore Lacey Marglin delivered a pinch-hit single with one out in the top of the sixth but the Boxers turned an inning-ending double play on a line out to third to get out of the jam. 
 
Pacific added a run on an error and wild pitch in the bottom of the inning and Lewis & Clark went 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• The Pioneers are 2-0 in NWC series (swept Willamette University 4-0) to start the season. Their two series wins are their most since the 2021 season when they earned series wins over Willamette (4-0) and the University of Puget Sound (3-1). 
• Alvarez moved into the top-10 in program history in career hits (118) on Sunday. She is also 11^th in RBI (63), third in doubles (25) and just outside the top-15 in runs scored (63). 
• Lewis & Clark improved to 7-5 on the road with their 3-1 weekend. With their win on Sunday, the Pioneers matched their road win total from a year ago in eight fewer games (7-13).  
• Gildersleeve is now tied for fifth in program history in career RBI (73). She matched former teammate Riley Anderson ('23) for fifth place on Saturday with her three RBI. Gildersleeve is tied with Campanella for the team-lead this season with 17 runs drive in. 
• O'Leary is just three strikeouts away from reaching 100 for her career. She also went over 100 career innings pitched on Saturday (104.0).  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
The Pioneers will have next weekend off, before traveling to Spokane on April 6 and 7 for a four-game set against Whitworth University. The first game on Saturday, April 6 is scheduled for Noon.