Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CALDWELL, Idaho - Nickayla Skinner struck out 12 batters in a two-hit shutout in Game 1, with the College of Idaho using a six-run fourth inning in Game 2 to sweep Eastern Oregon at Symms Field.
The Lady Yotes (27-13, 19-9 CCC) clinched no worse than the No. 3 seed in next week's Cascade Conference Championships, finishing the regular season with a 15-5 record at home. The two wins broke a 30-30 deadlock with the Mountaineers (17-23, 7-21) in the all-time series, dating back to the 2002 season.
C of I gave Skinner all the run support she needed in the second inning of Game 1 - taking advantage of two EOU errors. Destiny Turner scored on one of them, as Mountie catcher Cassie Wendt dropped the ball applying a tag at the plate, allowing Turner to score on a Skinner fielders choice. McKensie Stanton, who was 3-for-3 in the win, followed with a run-scoring double to make it 2-0. Briana Brace capped the scoring in the fourth with an RBI single.
Skinner recorded her 29th career shutout - tying a season-high with her 12 strikeouts - limiting EOU to just one runner in scoring position.
Game 2 was scoreless until the fourth, when C of I batted around for six runs. Paige Gabiola opened the scoring with a two-run single, with Kaci Baldwin scoring on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Ashley Van Horne ripped a two-run single to extend the lead to 5-0, with Turner lining an RBI single to push the margin to 6-0.
Cortni Pena took a shutout into the seventh inning, when a pair of C of I errors allowed Eastern to break through, with the Mountaineers adding a two-run Katie Martell homer, before the right-hander closed out the victory.
Baldwin had two hits for the Yotes, with Martell and Mariebeth Wantanabe each recording two hits for EOU. Lindsey Walchli took the loss in both games for Eastern - throwing over 220 pitches on the afternoon.
C of I will learn their opponent for the CCC Championships on Saturday night - with the tourney set for May 1-2.
