PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College softball completed their third-straight, four-game sweep to begin Northwest Conference play, behind a pair of strong outings from junior pitchers Maggie O'Leary and Charlize Pope on Sunday morning. 
 
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 5, Whitworth 3
Lewis & Clark 5, Whitworth 2
(Lewis & Clark 20-2, NWC 12-0)
(Whitworth 1-21, NWC 1-11) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
O'Leary and Pope each posted quality starts and the Pioneers did just enough offensively and defensively to complete the four-game sweep of Whitworth. 
 
O'Leary tied her career-high with 12 strikeouts in the opener and tied the program record with her fifth career save. The junior threw 8.2 innings on Sunday and struck out 14, while allowing six hits and two earned runs. Pope held the visitors to seven hits and two runs over five innings to earn her second win of the weekend. 
 
Sophomore Makena Dahir had the top day for the Pioneers at the plate. The center fielder went 3-6 with a run scored, three RBI and a double. 
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark scored four runs in the fourth to grab a 5-0 lead and the Pioneers pitchers dominated Whitworth with the exception of two innings during bouts of heavy rain.  
 
O'Leary went 6.2 innings and allowed four hits and two earned runs. She set a season-high and tied her career-high with 12 strikeouts, including seven in a row at one point. Sophomore Ryan Jurischk came on in the seventh trying for the save but only posted one out during a heavy rain period.
 
The Pioneers took the lead in the bottom of the first. Junior Gina Ozuna led off with a single but was thrown out trying to steal second. With two down, graduate student Mari Alvarez doubled down the left-field line and easily scored on senior Sam Gildersleeve's RBI single. 
 
After allowing a leadoff infield single to start the top of the first, O'Leary was unhittable for the next four innings. She retired the next 12 batters, including striking out seven in a row from the second to the fourth inning. 
 
Lewis & Clark provided insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Harper Campanella beat out an infield single and was replaced at first by junior pinch runner Pippi Jepsen. Junior Emily Patton beat out a bunt single and both runners took two extra bases when the ball was thrown into right field. Junior Cami Restagno walked to put runners at the corners and she was pinch run for by first year Kayla Roman. Junior McKenna Zehnder put down a bunt on the next play and the Pirates tried to get the runner at home, the ball squirted past the catcher allowing the run to score and Roman to race towards third. When Zehnder was caught in a run down at first base, Roman scored to make it 4-0. After Ozuna was hit by a pitch with two outs, Dahir doubled down the left-field line to score Ozuna and push the lead to 5-0. 
 
The rain began to come down hard to start the fifth. O'Leary hit each of the first two batters of the inning. Whitworth loaded the bases with an infield single but O'Leary struck out the next batter for the second out. Kendal Sage plated the first run of the weekend for the visitors with a bloop single just over the circle to make it 5-1. Katie McKinnis added a second run with the third hit by pitch of the inning but O'Leary buckled down and struck out the next batter to leave the bases loaded. 
 
Whitworth loaded the bases again in the seventh with the rain coming down. Each of the first two batters reached on singles and they loaded the bases on a Pioneers error. Jurischk retired the next batter on an RBI groundout. The Pirates loaded the bases on a hit by pitch. O'Leary came on from there and posted a fly out and a strikeout to seal the win. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark plated four runs in the bottom of the first and Pope and O'Leary combined to strand seven Pirates on base in the Pioneers 20^th win of the season. 
 
Pope moved to 6-1 on the year after scattering seven hits, one walk and two runs over five innings. She added three strikeouts. O'Leary came on for her first save of the year and held the visitors to two hits and a walk over two scoreless frames. 
 
Whitworth reliever Reiss McIntyre came on in the first and held Lewis & Clark to four hits and one run over the final 5.1 innings to keep the game close. 
 
Lewis & Clark scored four runs in the first inning on just one hit. Ozuna, Patton and Gildersleeve all walked against Pirates starting Momi Lyman. Dahir lined a single into center that scored two runs and she moved up to second on the throw home. Junior Lacey Marglin made it 3-0 with a squeeze bunt that plated Gildersleeve. Dahir scored on a dropped pop up off the bat of Cami Restagno to make it 4-0 after seven batters. The Pioneers would load the bases again on walks to Zehnder and junior Madison Scroggins. Whitworth turned the ball over to McIntyre at that point and she induced a fly out to center to end the inning. 
 
Pope cruised through the opening four frames. She allowed just three singles and faced two batters over the minimum - thanks to a 5-4-3 double play in the fourth. 
 
Whitworth cut the deficit to 4-2 in the fifth. The first two batters reached on singles and a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position. On ball four to the next batter, the ball bounced back to the stop but senior catcher Caeleigh Rosenbach tossed the ball home to Pope, who applied the tag to get the runner racing home from third. Pope retired the next batter on a pop up but Sage came through with a two-run double to make it 4-2. After another single put runners on the corners, Pope recorded a fly out to end the inning and her outing. 
 
The Pirates loaded the bases against O'Leary in the sixth with no outs on a double, a walk and a single. She retired the next three batters on a pop up and back-to-back strikeouts to keep the score 4-2. 
 
Lewis & Clark added an insurance run in the sixth. Zehnder singled with one out, took second on a wild pitch, third on a ground out and scored when Patton ripped a single into left-center. 
 
O'Leary retired the side in order in the seventh to close out the sweep. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• O'Leary's 12-strikeout game was the fourth double-digit strikeout game of her career. Both times she's struck out 12 batters (March 31, 2013 against George Fox) she has recorded exactly 20 outs (6.2 innings). 
• Lewis & Clark swept Whitworth for the first time since 2007. The Pioneers have now won seven-straight against the Pirates and have won or tied the season series in four of the past five seasons they've played a full series. The two teams only played one playoff game in 2021, after their regular-season series was cancelled that Spring. 
• O'Leary tied former teammate Alyssa Abe ('23) for the program record for career saves (five) in game two.
• The Pioneers five hits in game two were their second-fewest of the season. They are 2-0 this year when posting five hits or less. Whitworth held Lewis & Clark to five runs or less for just the fifth and sixth times all season. 
• O'Leary reached 250 career innings (250.2) and 225 strikeouts (227 total) on Sunday. She stands third all-time in strikeouts, just 20 behind Janet Freerks (2004-07) for the program record of 247.  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will travel to Pacific Lutheran University to begin a crucial eight-game, NWC road trip. The Pioneers will play the Lutes on Saturday and Sunday in a rematch of two NWC Tournament games last Spring. Game one on Saturday is scheduled for Noon.