KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. –
Kylie Smith finished the day with six hits and nine runs batted in as No. 19 College of Idaho took two out of three games of a tripleheader on Friday against No. 8 Oregon Tech.
Originally slated to be a four-game set, the series was changed to a Friday only tripleheader earlier in the week due to expected snow accumulation in the Klamath Basin on Saturday.
The Yotes (10-6, 4-2 CCC) came away on top 12-2 in five innings in the series opener, with the Owls (8-9, 2-4 CCC) holding off a late rally to win 5-4 in Game 2. C of I plated a trio of runs in the sixth inning of Game 3 to pick up a come-from-behind 6-5 victory.
In the opener, starter
Hannah McNerney (3-2) held OIT to five hits and two runs in five innings of work, with the C of I bats adding 12 runs on 13 hits in support of her strong effort in the circle.
It didn't take long for the bats to get going for the Yotes, with
Trystin Crofts bringing Smith in with a one-out triple in the first inning and McNerney singling up the middle to score Crofts in the same frame.
The offensive onslaught continued with three runs in the second and third innings and four in the fourth.
Smith went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a pair of runs in the opener.
Lauren Gordon was 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Crofts added two hits and two RBI.
Lexi Navarrete had two hits and scored two runs.
Trailing 2-0 in the second inning in Game 2, C of I turned a leadoff single from
Alyssa Goff into their first run of the contest when
Haley Loffer hit an RBI groundout to the right side of the infield.
Neither team would bring a run across for the next two innings, leaving the score at 2-1 entering the fourth, where the Owls took advantage of three errors by the Yotes in the field to extend the lead to 5-1.
A Smith bases-clearing triple in the top of the seventh brought C of I within a run at 5-4, but OIT pitcher Sarah Abramson would escape the jam and secure the win by inducing Crofts into a game-ending groundout to shortstop.
Freshman
Natalie Sell (1-1) took the loss in Game 2, but was effective, with just one of the five runs that came across the plate against her of the earned variety. She scattered five hits and two walks over the course of six innings of work.
Goff led the Yotes with a pair of hits and two runs in the loss.
Similar to the second game, C of I needed a late rally to overcome the Owls in Game 3, with Smith once again coming up clutch with a three-RBI double to create a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning.
Brianna Hoffman pitched a scoreless final two innings - including a 1-2-3 seventh - to earn her first save.
Nichole Giesy (1-0) pitched the fifth inning and was the winner in relief.
As was the case all day, Smith posted a huge game at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with four RBI.
Micha Fortune had a pair of hits and scored three runs.
The Yotes now return home to play Northwest in a four-game set next Friday and Saturday.
