CALDWELL, Idaho – No. 23 College of Idaho topped Warner Pacific 5-3 on Saturday to secure the second seed into the Cascade Conference Tournament next week.
In the win, third baseman
Trystin Crofts contributed three hits to bring her career total to 219, marking a new C of I program record. The previous record was 216 set by
Alexis Macias from 2012-15.
The Yotes (35-14, 22-5 CCC) and Knights (19-23, 10-17 CCC) were originally slated to play a second game as well on Saturday, however lightning and heavy rain washed that contest out with WPU up 4-0 in the top of the third inning.
With the victory, C of I earns a first-round bye in the CCC Tournament, where they will await the winner of No. 3 Oregon Tech and No. 6 Warner Pacific. The Yotes first game will be at 4:30 p.m. PT on Friday, May 7 at Southern Oregon. In the other first round game, No. 4 Corban takes on No. 5 Eastern Oregon. The winner of that contest plays No. 1 SOU at 2 p.m. PT.
It did not take long for the Yotes to get a runner aboard on Saturday, as leadoff hitter
Haley Loffer reached thanks to an error by Knights second baseman Alexis Morrow.
Kylie Smith then bunted Loffer up to second, putting a runner in scoring position with one out. A
Trystin Crofts groundout advanced Loffer to third, with Loffer coming in thanks to a wild throw by shortstop Payton Hergert to first on a
Kaily Christensen grounder which would have been the third out of the inning. C of I took full advantage of the early errors, tacking on another run when
Micha Fortune beat the shift on the left side of the infield for an opposite field RBI single.
An Emma Foster base hit through the left side inched the Knights closer at 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning.
In the third,
Hattie Hruza extended the C of I advantage to 3-1 with an RBI groundout to second to score Crofts.
Loffer used her wheels to come around in the fourth, doubling to the gap in right-center, stealing third and scoring after an errant throw on the play from WPU catcher Jamie Carlson which got away from the third baseman.
The Knights would score twice in the fifth to make it 4-3, starting the offense with a Devinne Amesquita sacrifice fly to right and wrapping it up with a Carlson single to left to plate Hergert.
Reliever
Annie Polster shut the Knights down the rest of the way to pick up her third save of the season, working 2 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out four.
Katelyn Wilfert (14-4) was the winning pitcher, finishing 4 2/3 innings in which she allowed six hits and three runs while striking out five.
An
Aleah Mendiola single up the middle in the seventh to score Fortune was the final tally for the Yotes.
Crofts finished the day 3-for-5 and Christensen went 3-for-4. Fortune was 2-for-3 at the plate.
