CALDWELL, Idaho – No. 23 College of Idaho finished up a four-game series sweep of Corban by taking a pair of games on Saturday at Symms Field.
The Yotes (30-8, 18-0 CCC) built a big early lead and held on to take the opener 11-8 before taking a similar second game by a 10-6 final.
Right out of the chutes in Game 1,
Kaily Christensen and
Tanner Higgins tallied RBI singles to give C of I a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Four more runs came across in the second on a pair of two-run singles by Christensen and
Trystin Crofts.
Trailing 6-0 in the top of the third, Corban (19-15, 12-6 CCC) utilized the long ball to inch closer when Madison Wyllie connected on a two-run shot on a 1-1 pitch.
A
Lacie Miller pinch hit double down the line in left in the bottom of the third pushed the C of I lead back out to 7-2.
In the fourth, the Yotes turned two walks, two hit batters, an error and a Christensen base hit to left into three more runs to make it 10-2.
The Warriors battled back late, scoring a pair of runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
C of I tacked on a late run in the sixth when
Micha Fortune beat out an infield single to plate
Kylie Smith.
Starter
Katelyn Wilfert (12-3) earned credit for the win, going four innings and allowing four hits, two runs and walking none while striking out six.
Christensen finished 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI. Crofts, Smith and Fortune each had two hits.
The second game of the doubleheader had a similar start to things as the first game, with the Yotes racing out to a 7-0 lead after a five-run second and a two-run third.
Following a
Hannah Mikel leadoff single in the second,
Lexi Navarrete roped a double down the left field line to bring Mikel in. A
Lauren Gordon hit on the infield and a
Sydney Zachry pop up that was dropped by Corban catcher Morgan Gleeson then loaded the bases for
Lysette Villegas, who took advantage of the opportunity by delivering an RBI single to left to score Navarrete.
Kaylee MacDannald took it from there, clearing the bases with a three-run double to the gap in left-center.
Zachry and Villegas continued to make an impact with back-to-back RBI singles in the third.
Corban scored six runs in the fourth through sixth innings to bring the final score closer, but C of I used a two-run shot from Miller in the fourth and a MacDannald RBI groundout to bring in Zachry in the fifth to fend of the comeback efforts.
MacDannald conclude the game with four runs batted in. Villegas added three hits, while Navarrete and Zachry each posted a pair.
Hannah McNerney (10-4) was the winning pitcher for C of I, working 4 1/3 innings in the circle.
Loryn Fonger pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, scattering three hits and a run while walking one and striking out one.
The Yotes remain in the top spot of the Cascade Conference standings heading into a much-anticipated four-game series next Friday and Saturday at No. 1 Southern Oregon (33-2, 17-1 CCC).
