CALDWELL, Idaho – One swing by
Hailey Chambers turned the entire weekend around for the College of Idaho softball program, as her go-ahead 3-run home run in Game 1 propelled the Lady Yotes to a doubleheader sweep of British Columbia at Symms Field.
The Lady Yotes (14-19-1, 8-14 CCC) scored five times in the fifth inning of Game 1 to earn a 5-2 win, while hanging on late for an 8-6 win in the night cap. It was the first doubleheader sweep by C of I since late January and may turn out to be a pivotal pair of games in the race for postseason positioning in the Cascade Conference.
UBC (11-22, 9-15) took a 2-0 lead in the opener on the strength of solo home runs from Shaelyn Ogilvie in the second and Montana Turnovitski in the fourth.
C of I countered with a big fifth inning rally, as
Kristin Paulazzo walked and
Destiny Turner rapped a single to left. An out later, Chambers clubbed a long homer over the left field wall to give the Lady Yotes their first lead in five games.
Katie Rowe followed with a single, stole second, and scored on a
Katelyn Geyer single just inside the third-base bag.
Delaney Atkins capped the frame with a double into the left-center gap to make it 5-2.
It was enough for
Cortni Pena, who tossed a complete game seven-hitter, striking out three. Rowe and Geyer each had two hits for C of I, with Hillary Strelau, Ogilvie and Turnovitski each recording two hits for the T-Birds.
Turnovitski was at it again in Game 2, launching a two-run homer in the second to give UBC a 2-0 lead. However, it did not last long, as C of I batted around for four runs in the bottom of the frame. Atkins singled and moved to third on an
Ashley Pesek double the fell between two T-Bird outfielders.
Tess Willis plated a run with an RBI ground out and Paulazzo knotted the score with the first of her two doubles in the game. After a walk to Turner, Geyer gave the Yotes the lead with an RBI single, while Turner scored on a UBC error to make it 4-2.
The lead would grow to 7-2 in the fourth after a Turner RBI single and a two-run single from
Alex Kordopatis. UBC would strike back, scoring three in the sixth – including an RBI double from Quinn Dhaliwal and a Mackenzie Siddall RBI single – but a two-out error by the T-Birds in the bottom of the inning extended the frame and Atkins doubled home a run to give C of I an 8-5 lead.
The Canadian nine would threaten in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Turnovitski would reach on an infield single to plate a run to cut the lead to 8-6, but Pesek got Dhaliwal to strike out and Siddall to pop out to left to end the game.
Pesek threw 164 pitches in the complete game victory, working around six runs and 11 hits, striking out five – while going 2-for-3 at the plate. Paulazzo was 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, with Turner and Atkins both recording two hits.
Turnovitski was 2-for-2 with three RBI for UBC in the loss.
C of I caps the regular-season next Saturday with an 11 a.m. home doubleheader vs. Eastern Oregon.
NOTE: The originally scheduled doubleheader against Walla Walla University, set for April 22 has been canceled – with the two games forfeited to C of I.
