CALDWELL, Idaho – Both starting pitchers took no-hitters into the fifth inning as No. 23 College of Idaho improved to 17-0 in the Cascade Conference with a doubleheader sweep against Corban on Friday afternoon at Symms Field.
The Yotes (28-8, 17-0 CCC) won the opener 8-0 in five innings and built early separation to pull away for an 8-1 win in the late game over the Warriors (19-14, 12-5 CCC).
Right-hander
Katelyn Wilfert (11-3) was outstanding in the circle in Game 1, striking out eight Corban batters and yielding just a leadoff single to Sophia Barbosa to start the fifth.
In the bottom of the second,
Kaily Christensen was hit by a pitch for the first of two times on the day, giving C of I a leadoff baserunner. After an error and a sacrifice bunt by
Hattie Hruza,
Micha Fortune hit a chopper on the infield to score Christensen.
Mallory Copeland followed that with an RBI single to make it 2-0. The Warriors then committed two more costly errors to plate two additional C of I runs, starting with a missed tag of Copeland between first and second and concluding with a bobble at first by Ivey Uppinghouse on a roller hit off the bat of
Trystin Crofts.
Already up 4-0 in the fourth, a Christensen RBI hit by pitch and a
Tanner Higgins sacrifice fly gave the Yotes some additional cushion.
Aleah Mendiola did the rest in the fifth, ending the game with a two-run homer to right-center.
Mendiola had a strong game at the dish, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Fortune was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs.
Continuing with the theme of strong pitching and plenty of offensive support, the Yotes jumped ahead 8-0 through three innings in Game 2 and never looked back.
In the second inning, C of I brought in five runs on just two hits, as the Warriors committed an error, allowed two walks and hit a pair of batters.
Mendiola kept the production going in the third with an RBI single to left.
Haley Loffer followed with a two-run blast in the immediately ensuing at bat, making it 8-0.
Loffer finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI.
The Warriors scored their lone run of the day in the fifth on a Christine Warren single to bring in Tabby Humphrey.
Annie Polster (8-0) held Corban hitless entering the fifth inning. The right-hander finished her day with a complete game performance, allowing four hits and a run while striking out three and walking one.
With the two wins, C of I set two new single-season program records, surpassing the 298 runs scored by the 2014 team and passing the 45 hit by pitches set by the 2012 and 2013 squads. The Yotes have scored 302 runs and been hit by 50 pitches this year with 14 games still remaining on the regular season slate.
C of I and Corban conclude the four-game weekend series with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Symms Field.
