EUGENE, Ore. – A sweep of Bushnell allowed The College of Idaho to remain in the top spot in the Cascade Conference standings, as the Yotes utilized two strong starts and another productive offensive day on Saturday at Rich Schwab Field.
The opener went to C of I (26-8, 15-0 CCC) by a score of 10-1 in six innings, while the second contest of the doubleheader was won by the Yotes 8-2.
Hannah McNerney (9-5) stymied the Beacons (6-24, 3-12 CCC) in Game 1, working a complete game, allowing just five hits and striking out five.
McNerney received a surplus of support from her catcher in the win, as
Sydney Zachry went 3-for-3 with four RBI at the plate, contributing run-scoring hits in the second, fifth and sixth innings.
It was Zachry who started the offensive production for the Yotes, tallying an RBI single to left in the second to make it 1-0.
RBI groundouts from
Haley Loffer and
Kylie Smith in the fourth extended the lead out to 3-0 before a five-run fifth blew things open.
In the fifth, Zachry sparked the rally with a two-run single up the middle, with three more runs coming around following the hit.
C of I added a pair in the sixth on a
Micha Fortune RBI groundout to the right side of the infield and a Zachry hit through the left side.
Aleah Mendiola went 3-for-3 at the dish with a pair of runs.
Hattie Hruza touched home three times.
The Yotes jumped on the board first in the second game as well, playing small ball to plate a run on a
Kaily Christensen sacrifice bunt.
A Sam Silver base hit in the bottom half to score Madison Steelman evened things up at 1-1, with the game remaining tied until the fourth inning, when Hannah Luke hit an RBI double and
Kaylee MacDannald added a base hit to make it 3-1 C of I.
Bushnell answered back in the bottom half of the fourth to remain close in a 3-2 contest.
The resilient C of I bats went on to score the final five runs of the game to pull away late, as a lineup featuring a combined seven freshmen and sophomores piled up 14 hits for the game.
Senior
Mallory Copeland started the late scoring with a sacrifice fly in the sixth before turning it over to a trio of underclassmen who made key contributions in the seventh.
Hannah Mikel sparked the seventh inning attack with a triple to left to bring in McNerney.
Makenna Luke then singled to right to score Mikel, with
Lauren Garman concluding the offensive output with a two-run single up the middle.
MacDannald, Garman and Luke each posted three hits, with Luke and Garman each finishing with two RBI. Mikel scored three runs.
Katelyn Wilfert (10-3) earned the win in the circle, pitching a complete game in which she allowed only four hits and two runs while striking out four.
Following the trip to Oregon, the Yotes will return home to play Corban next Friday and Saturday at Symms Field.
