HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. – Battling unsettled weather and a pair of high-octane offenses, the College of Idaho was unable to keep pace with Concordia-Irvine and Concordia-Portland on the final day of the Northwest Cup at Hood View Park.
CUI earned a 10-2 victory in the Yotes (3-4-1) morning game, with the Oregon nine picking up a 12-7 victory in a match-up of former Cascade Conference foes.
In Game 1, Amy Eilefson smashed a three-run home run in the opening frame to give the Eagles (16-1) a 4-0 lead, tacking on two runs in the third and three runs in the fourth, to gain a nine-run edge. C of I kept the game alive in the fifth, as
Delaney Atkins lined a two-run single to cut the lead to 9-2, but a Coyote error followed by a Crystal Foster RBI single ended the game in the bottom half of the frame due to the run rule.
Eilefson finished 2-for-2 with three RBI for CUI, as pitcher BethAnn McCann earned the win, allowing six hits with five strikeouts.
Jodie Hoagland had two hits in the loss for the Yotes.
Game 2 was a slugfest, as the Coyotes and Cavaliers (9-6) combined for 28 hits on the afternoon.
Taylor Bussey struck first for CUP, lining a first inning RBI single, only to see the Yotes take advantage of a passed ball and an error to plate two runs, with
Destiny Turner providing the other blow, a long RBI ground-rule double.
The lead did not last, as a Courtney Somers RBI double and a Meaghan Luebbert RBI single in the second tied the score for the Cavs, with McKenzie Smith blasting a three-run homer to give CUP a 6-3 lead. Atkins got the Yotes within 6-4 with a third inning RBI single, but a Taylor Copher two-run single in the fifth and a four-run Cavalier sixth – helped by two C of I errors, gave the hosts a 12-4 lead.
C of I kept the game alive in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run Turner double and added a Hoagland RBI double in the seventh, but could not get closer.
Luebbert was 4-for-5 and Somers had three hits in the win for CUP, with Turner going 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Yotes.
The two teams will meet again next weekend, as C of I opens a four-game road swing in Portland.
