SURPRISE, Ariz. –
Trystin Crofts went 5-for-6 with three runs scored, as the College of Idaho improved to 4-0 on the season with a doubleheader sweep of Ottawa University at Willow Canyon Park.
The Yotes (4-0) earned a 1-0 victory in the opener and rallied from a 5-run deficit in Game 2 to record a 7-5 win. C of I is off to their best start since 2012, when the Coyotes opened the season with five-straight wins.
GAME 1 –
Colette Robert handcuffed the Spirit (0-2), tossing a 5-hit shutout, with the Yotes using small-ball to pick up the lone run of the game.
Locked in a scoreless duel through five innings, C of I got a one-out single from Crofts, followed by a
Marissa Maddox double to put the tandem in scoring position.
Delaney Atkins followed, laying down a perfect squeeze bunt to plate Crofts with the eventual game-winner.
C of I stranded runners scoring position in both the first and third, while OUAZ left two runners on in both the second and fourth innings and had the tying run on in the seventh. Robert coaxed Miranda Davis to ground out to short to end the game.
Robert walked one and struck out four to earn the victory, with Crofts going 2-for-3 at the plate. Five different Spirit hitters had one hit.
GAME 2 – Spotting OUAZ a 5-0 lead, the Yotes used a 5-run, 2-out rally in the third to pull even and rode the right arm of
Hannah McNerney to the victory.
Emily Stebbins smashed a 3-run homer in the first and OUAZ added two runs in the second to grab the early edge. C of I answered in a big way – as singles from
Bentli Corta and Crofts was followed by an RBI single from Maddox to get the Yotes on the board. Atkins made it 5-3 with a two-run double and after
Emily Aspden reached on an error,
Haley Loffer doubled home the duo to pull C of I even.
An inning later, Crofts singled home
Micha Fortune with two outs to give C of I the lead – and scored on a Maddox RBI single.
McNerney did the rest – throwing six innings of shutout relief – allowing just three hits and three walks. OUAZ loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but the freshman fanned Amanda Almond to close the game.
Crofts was 3-for-3, with Maddox going 2-for-4 with two RBI – part of a 10-hit C of I attack. Ashton Aggers had two hits for OUAZ in the loss.
C of I closes out their trip to Arizona tomorrow with a doubleheader at Benedictine Mesa.
