CALDWELL, Idaho – Nickayla Skinner tossed her second career no-hitter in the opener and Molly Mills led a record-setting hitting performance by going 5-for-5 in the nightcap, as The College of Idaho swept a key Cascade Conference doubleheader from Northwest Christian.
The Lady Yotes (24-20, 10-10 CCC) remained in the hunt for the final CCC Tournament berth with the 5-0 and 11-4 victories at Symms Field.
Skinner was dominant in the opener striking out 10 batters – retiring the final 15 batters in order for her 15th win. The only base-runner in the contest for the Beacons (5-19, 3-11) was Kaeli Massetto, who was hit by the first pitch of the third inning.
The C of I gave the right-hander all the run support she needed in the second, as Katie Rowe scored on a NCU error, with Mills following with a two-run single, and Alexis Macias making it 4-0 with an RBI double. An inning later, Rowe led off the frame with a solo homer, just inside the left field foul pole.
Mills went 3-for-3, with Rowe and Macias each recording two hits in the victory. Jordan Bennett allowed seven hits and seven walks in the loss for the Beacons.
Game 2 saw the Yotes set a school record with a 19-hit barrage, with Mills tying the record for hits in a game.
NCU did not make it easy, as a Parker Bonife bunt single in the first got the Beacons on the board, then adding RBI singles from Gabby Stover and Dani Gehrke in the third to make it 3-0. The Yotes would tie the score in the bottom of the third with one swing, as Ashley Van Horne lined a three-run homer.
Both teams traded runs in the fourth – Randi Kostner lining an RBI single for the Beacons, with Julia Henrie gapping a pinch-hit RBI double for the Yotes to tie the score.
The C of I would break the game open in the sixth, sending 12 batters to the plate – with eight-straight batters recording a hit. Back-to-back one-out doubles by Mills and Henrie gave the Yotes the lead, a Van Horne RBI single made it 6-4, with run-scoring singles from Rowe and Paige Gabiola made it 8-4. A wild pitch allowed the fifth run of the inning to score, with an error on a Briana Brace single allowing a run to plate. Mills capped the inning with an RBI single.
Cortni Pena got the win, retiring eight straight batters in the late innings, working around seven hits for her ninth victory. Brace went 3-for-4 with two runs score, with Henrie going 2-for-3 with two RBI and Van Horne going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Bonife went 2-for-4 in the loss for NCU.
The C of I returns to action tomorrow, hosting Corban University at 11 a.m.
