GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Two solid pitching performances and 16 runs of offensive support allowed The College of Idaho to sweep a Friday doubleheader over Providence.
The Yotes (13-7, 5-0 CCC) took Game 1 by a 7-1 final, with C of I going on to win 9-1 in five innings in Game 2.
With the victory in the opener, head coach
Al Mendiola won his 400th game. He joins his wife Liz - the head volleyball coach on campus - as the only women's sport coaches in school history to win 400 or more games.
C of I utilized an effective effort in the circle by
Hannah McNerney (5-3) in Game 1, with the right-hander pitching a complete game in which she allowed just five hits and a run while striking out five.
McNerney's teammates provided run support right out of the chutes, with
Kaily Christensen hitting a double to score
Kylie Smith to make it 1-0 in the first inning.
The Argos (0-6, 0-5 CCC) responded to the C of I tally with a run of their own in the bottom half of the first on a Peyton Elliot blooper over the left side of the infield to score Taylor Mathews.
Providence would not score again the rest of the way, with the Yotes plating solo runs in the third and fourth innings before adding a pair in both the fifth and seventh frames.
Some offensive highlights from the later innings included
Sydney Zachry bringing home
Micha Fortune with an RBI single to left in the fourth and pinch hitter
Tanner Higgins scoring two on a single to center in the fifth. Higgins added a sacrifice fly as well in the seventh.
Zachry finished the game 3-for-3 with an RBI. Christensen added two doubles, Higgins contributed three RBI off the bench and Fortune stole two bases.
In the second game of the doubleheader, right-hander
Katelyn Wilfert (5-3) earned the win by working a complete game and allowing one run on four hits and five strikeouts.
The second inning was the difference in the game, as the Yotes piled up seven runs on five hits and three errors, sending 12 batters to the plate.
The big inning started with a fly ball hit to right by Higgins that was dropped by Elliot in the outfield.
Aleah Mendiola,
Haley Loffer, Smith, Fortune and Higgins each recorded hits following the leadoff miscue, with two more errors surrounding those hits throughout the rest of the frame giving the visitors a 7-0 cushion.
C of I added two more runs in the fifth thanks to an RBI base hit by
Trystin Crofts and a run-scoring groundout from Christensen.
In the second game, Smith went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs. Crofts had two hits as well and brought in two runs at the plate.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. for another doubleheader.
