Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CALDWELL, Idaho –
Taylor Eakle hit a pair of home runs,
Trystin Crofts added a double and a pair of triples and
Colette Robert held the top hitting team in the Cascade Conference to one earned run in 9.2 innings of work, as the College of Idaho stunned No. 4 ranked Southern Oregon in a doubleheader at Symms Field.
Eakle hit a go-ahead homer in the Yotes (35-11, 20-6 CCC) 3-1 victory in Game 1, while Robert got the final eight outs in order in the nightcap, as C of I completed the sweep with a 6-3 win. With the sweep, C the Yotes clinched the No. 3 seed in next week's Cascade Conference championships.
The Game 1 loss by the Raiders (40-7, 23-3) ended a league-record 22-game conference win streak and marked the first time SOU had lost back-to-back games since 2017.
In a battle of the top two arms in the CCC, Robert got the best of Southern ace Gabby Sandoval – taking a shutout into the seventh inning to pick up win No. 18. The lefty worked out of a second and third jam in the second inning with consecutive strikeouts; got a double play ball to end the third inning; and was helped by a running catch at the wall in the seventh by
Delaney Atkins to rob Tiana Brown of extra bases.
C of I got to Sandoval in the fifth, as Eakle smashed a rise ball over the left field wall to break the scoreless tie. An inning later,
Haley Loffer was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a Crofts triple off the left field wall.
Marissa Maddox followed with an RBI ground out to extend the lead to 3-0.
SOU made it interesting in the seventh – loading the bases with two outs. Olivia Mackey broke up the shutout with an infield single, but Robert coaxed Avery Morehead-Hutsell to line out to end the game.
Robert allowed five hits and struck out five, with Sandoval limiting the Yotes to just three hits and fanning eight in just her third loss in 29 decisions.
Both teams scored in the first inning of Game 2, as Lauren Quirke ripped an opposite field home run to give Southern their first lead of the day, only to have the Yotes manufacture a run in the bottom of the inning as Loffer walked, stole second and eventually scored on a Maddox sacrifice fly.
The Coyotes would break the game open in the third – capitalizing on a Raiders error to prolong the inning. Crofts lined an RBI triple into the right field corner to give C of I the lead, with Maddox following with double off the left-centerfield wall. Aktins cleared the bags with a home run to center, with Eakle launching her second homer of the day to give the hosts a 6-1 lead.
Southern would chip away – loading the bases with one out in the fourth, but only plated a run on a Katrina Winterburn fielders' choice – adding a run in the fifth on a Quirke RBI single, but Robert entered in relief and slammed the door for her third save of 2019.
Hannah McNerney earned the win, allowing three runs on four hits in four-plus innings of work. Both Crofts and Atkins each had two hits in the win.
Jordyn Ragan took the loss – despite giving up just one earned run – striking out a season-high 10. Quirke went 2-for-3 as the only SOU player with a multi-hit game.
The teams close out the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader. Between games, the Yotes will honor the seven senior student-athletes playing their final game at Symms Field.
