CALDWELL, Idaho –
Trystin Crofts hit two home runs and drove in five and
Colette Robert added four hits and spun a three-hit shutout as College of Idaho split a Cascade Conference doubleheader with Northwest University at Symms Field.
Crofts hit a walk-off 3-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Yotes (14-14, 5-9 CCC) an 8-0 win in Game 1, but the Eagles took advantage of a pair of unearned run to steal Game 2, 2-1.
Robert was dominant in the opener – allowing just three singles and striking out seven in picking up her tenth win of the season. She helped her own cause with a 3-for-3 game – giving C of I the lead in the second with an RBI double, adding an RBI single in the fifth inning.
The Yotes added a three-run fourth to extend the lead, as
Kristin Paulazzo drove in a run with a ground out,
Courtney Ellis and Crofts adding RBI singles. Leading 5-0 in the sixth, singles by Ellis and
Bentli Corta set the stage for Crofts, who belted a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall for the game-winner.
Ellis and Crofts each had three hits in the win – part of a 12-hit C of I attack.
In the nightcap, Crofts staked the Yotes to a 1-0 lead with a long solo homer in the first, but Eagles (11-20, 4-10) starter Hannah Yelas did not allow a runner reach third base the rest of the way in the complete game win.
NU pulled even in the third – as Cara Cristion scored on a two-out ground ball that was booted by the C of I infield. The Eagles took the lead in the sixth, as Alicia Loiler and Maggie Harshaw singled with two outs and advanced 60-feet on a passed ball. The next pitch went to the screen, allowing Loiler to score with the eventual winning run.
C of I put the tying run on base with one out in the seventh – but Yelas got a strikeout and a pop up to end the game.
Loiler went 2-for-3 in the win for NU, with Yelas allowing just six hits and striking out five. Six different Yotes had one hit in the loss, with
Ali Longoria taking the loss, despite allowing just five singles and no earned runs.
The two teams close out the series with an 11 a.m. doubleheader tomorrow, with the first game counting in the conference standings.
