CALDWELL, Idaho – After taking the first two games of the Cascade Conference slate on Friday, The College of Idaho continued a successful start to league play with a doubleheader sweep of Northwest on Saturday at Symms Field.
The Yotes (11-7, 3-0 CCC) erupted for a 10-run third inning in a 14-1 win in five innings in Game 1, with the home team coming away on top 10-5 in Game 2.
Opening game starter
Annie Polster (3-0) put the clamps on the Eagles (0-8, 0-3 CCC), pitching a complete game two-hitter in which she struck out eight batters and walked only one.
With the contest scoreless entering the bottom of the third, the C of I bats exploded for 10 runs on eight hits and three errors as 14 hitters came to the plate.
Trystin Crofts ignited the offensive fireworks with a one-out double to left-center in which she advanced to third thanks to a bobble by Northwest outfielder Jordan Dippel. Four straight singles and an error at the hot corner followed to quickly make it 4-0. As the inning progressed,
Aleah Mendiola, Crofts, Christensen and
Hattie Hruza would each bring in runs.
Northwest got one back in the fourth on a Deanna Johnson RBI groundout.
In the bottom of the fourth, C of I pinch hitter
Tanner Higgins launched a grand slam to make it 14-1, with Polster doing the rest of the work in the fifth to secure the win.
Crofts, Christensen, Hruza, Mendiola and
Micha Fortune each finished with two hits, while Christensen had two RBI and Crofts scored twice.
It didn't take long for C of I to get on the board in the second game, turning a Fortune leadoff walk in the bottom of the first into a 1-0 lead when she scored from third on a wild pitch.
The Eagles answered back in the second to even it up at 1-1 on an Ashley Oswald sacrifice fly to bring in Sydney Maurer.
Hannah Mikel and Fortune led off the third for the Yotes with back-to-back singles.
Katelyn Wilfert scored Mikel with a two-out base hit to left, with freshman
Kaylee MacDannald then plating a pair on a triple, with MacDannald coming across on the play after a wild throw into third base by Oswald in right went all the way to the fencing.
Both teams would trade runs in the fifth and sixth innings, with a Higgins bases-clearing double in the sixth highlighting the offense for C of I.
Starter
Hannah McNerney (4-3) received credit for the win for the Yotes, working four innings and allowing three hits, striking out two and yielding a run. McNerney did not issue a walk.
Wilfert entered into a bases loaded situation in the sixth and finished the final two innings to pick up her first save.
Higgins and Wilfert each went 3-for-4 at the dish in the second game. Fortune and Mikel both posted a pair of hits.
Over the course of five plate appearances on Saturday, Higgins went 4-for-5 with seven RBI and two runs.
C of I continues CCC play at Providence next Friday and Saturday.
