SALEM, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College softball used a pair of rallies on Sunday, to complete a four-game sweep of host Willamette University in their opening Northwest Conference series of the year. 
 
THE BASICS
 
Lewis & Clark 12, Willamette 8
Lewis & Clark 5, Willamette 5
(Lewis & Clark 6-0, NWC 4-0)
(Willamette 3-5, NWC 0-4) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Lewis & Clark erased three Willamette leads and used key relief performances from juniors Charlize Pope and Maggie O'Leary to sweep the Bearcats for a second-straight season. 
 
Junior Lola Jarrette put together the best doubleheader of her collegiate career to help lead the Pioneers. She went 3-5 with three runs, three RBI and a walk and made her second collegiate start in game number two. Sophomore Harper Campanella closed out a fantastic weekend with five more hits (5-8), three runs and an RBI. 
 
In the circle, O'Leary went 2-0 to move to 5-0 on the year. 
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
The Pioneers clinched the series win with a topsy-turvy victory. Lewis & Clark erases an early 2-0 lead to claim a 9-2 advantage, only to have to hold on 12-8. 
 
Five players posted multiple hits as Lewis & Clark racked up 15 hits and 12 runs scored. 
 
Graduate student Mari Alvarez went 3-4 with a run scored, a double and two RBI in the win. Senior Sam Gildersleeve added two hits, three runs and an RBI. Jarrette came off the bench and finished 2-2 with two runs and two RBI. Junior Madison Scroggins chipped in two hits, a run scored and an RBI and Campanella added two hits and a run scored. 
 
In the circle, O'Leary cruised through the first five innings before giving up six of her eight runs in the sixth inning. She finished the game allowing eight runs on 11 hits and two walks in 5.2 innings pitched. Pope earned her second collegiate save by leaving the tying run on first base. She went 1.1 innings and gave up just one single. 
 
After going down 2-0 in the third, Lewis & Clark used three multi-run innings to earn the win. 
 
The Pioneers immediately took the lead in the top of the fourth with a four-run inning. Junior Emily Patton opened the frame with a hit by pitch and Campanella followed with a single. Gildersleeve broke up the shutout with an RBI single and Alvarez followed with an RBI single of her own to tie the game at 2-2. Sophomore Makena Dahir gave Lewis & Clark the lead for good with a double to the wall in right center that scored Gildersleeve and pinch runner Pippi Jepsen. 
 
The Pioneers looked like they had put the game away with a five-run, sixth inning. Gildersleeve and Alvarez opened the inning with singles and Gildersleeve raced home on a passed ball. After a one-out single from junior McKenna Zehnder, Jarrette came through with a pinch-hit RBI single. Scroggins followed with an RBI single up the middle and Patton capped off the inning with a two-run single to right-center. 
 
Willamette came roaring back with six runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Bearcats used five singles, a double, a walk and an error to close the deficit to 9-7. Pope came on in relief and gave up an RBI single to the first batter she faced, before inducing a grounder back to the circle to close out the inning. 
 
Lewis & Clark added three key insurance runs in the seventh. Gildersleeve reached on an error and raced home on an Alvarez RBI double. With two down, first year, pinch runner Kayla Roman raced home on a Jarrette RBI single up the middle. Scroggins kept the inning alive with an infield single and junior Gina Ozuna made it 12-8 with an RBI double to left. 
 
Pope retired Willamette in order in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark scored three runs in their final two at-bats to earn their tightest win of the year thus far (5-3). 
 
After rallying from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits, Campanella came through with a go-ahead, two-out, RBI single in the sixth to plate Jarrette. The Pioneers added a key run insurance run in the seventh with Jarrette blasting a two-out, RBI double to score Zehnder. 
 
Campanella recorded three of the team's 12 hits in game two by going 3-4 with two runs and an RBI. Dahir tacked on two hits, two RBI and a double. Jarrette chipped in a double, a run scored and an RBI in her first career NWC start. 
 
Pope put together her best start of the season thus far. The junior went 4.2 innings and gave up three runs (one earned). She allowed nine hits and two walks and earned a no-decision. O'Leary came on for the final 2.1 innings and scattered two hits and no runs to earn her fifth win. 
 
The visitors jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With two down, Campanella singled, Gildersleeve walked and Alvarez singled to load the bases. Dahir came through with an RBI single up the middle to score Campanella but Willamette ace Kenna Davis induced a groundout to leave the bases loaded. 
 
Willamette grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a pair of singles and a Pioneers error. 
 
Lewis & Clark tied the game in the third. Campanella led off with a single and raced home on a two-out, RBI double from Dahir. 
 
The hosts took back the lead with a single run in the fourth and threatened to add to their advantage in the fifth. With runners at first and second and two down, O'Leary came out of the bullpen. O'Leary gave up a pop up to the right side of the infield that dropped just in front of a diving Ozuna. O'Leary raced down the ball and threw home to get Faith Collar who was trying to score from second. 
 
The Pioneers used that momentum to take the lead in the top of the sixth. Junior Lacey Marglin came on to pinch hit and reached on a bunt single. After a Jarrette walk, Scroggins moved both runners over with a sac bunt. Ozuna plated Marglin with a sacrifice fly and Campanella came through with an RBI single to left-center. 
 
Willamette had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth but Scroggins made a diving play in left field for the third out to leave a runner on second base. 
 
The Pioneers tacked on one final run in the seventh. Zehnder singled up the middle with two outs and Jarrette blasted a double to left-center to score Zehnder from first. 
 
O'Leary retired Willamette in order in the bottom of the inning to seal the sweep. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Jarrette came into Sunday's doubleheader with one career multi-hit game and two games with multiple runs scored. She recorded her first career multi-RBI contest (third and fourth career RBI) and her second multi-hit and third multi-run game in Game One. 
• Gildersleeve (97 career runs) is just three runs shy of tying Tracy Jonas ('03) for the program record for most runs scored in program history. 
• Campanella went 9-16 (.563) with five runs, five RBI and two home runs in the four-game series. 
• Dahir posted seven RBI in 13 at-bats this weekend and is tied with Ozuna for the overall team lead with nine RBI. 
• Lewis & Clark has opened NWC play 4-0 for the second-consecutive season. 
• Alvarez (153 career games played) is just three shy of tying Caroline DeVincenzi ('12) for the most games played in program history.

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will host Warner Pacific University on Tuesday at 2 and 4 p.m. in their 2025 home opener. The games were originally scheduled for Saturday, February 15 but were postponed due to snow.