CLACKAMAS, Ore. – Molly Mills extended her hitting streak to 16 games and both Nickayla Skinner and Cortni Pena tossed four-hitters, as The College of Idaho opened up play at the Northwest Cup with a pair of victories at Hood View Park.
The Lady Yotes won the opener against Simpson, 3-1, the followed it with a tight 2-1 decision over British Columbia.
Simpson Box Score British Columbia Box Score
Skinner and Simpson starter Carlye Avey matched zeros through the first three innings, before the Redhawks (4-4) struck first on a Kara Wall solo home run. The score would stay that way until the bottom of the sixth, when Mills led off with her second home run of the season to knot the score at 1-1. Julia Henrie would reach on a one-out error, with Skinner driving her in with a two-out base hit, with McKensie Stanton following with her own run-scoring single.
Skinner did the rest in the circle, striking out 10 batters for her fourth win of 2013. Stanton went 2-for-3 in the victory for the Lady Yotes (5-3).
Game 2 saw both teams squander opportunities early, as the Yotes left a runner at second in the first and third innings, along with runners at second and third in the fourth, while UBC (4-6) left a runner at second in the first and second innings, and the bases loaded in the third.
The C of I broke through in the fifth, as Mills singled with two outs, scoring on an RBI double from Kayla Webb. Henrie would reach on a fielding error, allowing Webb to score what would be the eventual winning run.
The T-Birds took advantage of a pair of C of I errors in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with no outs, but Pena worked out of the mess – allowing just one run, retiring the final seven batters of the game in order to pick up her first collegiate win.
Webb had two of the five C of I hits, with Pena walking three and striking out three in the victory. Erin Day struck out nine in a losing effort for UBC.
The C of I puts a three-game win streak on the line tomorrow, meeting Willamette and Puget Sound on Day 2 of the three-day tournament.
