ATHERTON, Calif. – The No. 2 College of Idaho softball team extended its winning streak to five with a doubleheader sweep of host Menlo College, 7-1 and 8-1 on Thursday. C of I have outhit its opponents by 20, 48-28 and outscored by 31, 43-12 during its five-game winning streak.
The Yotes (6-2) plated two runs in three-different innings, plus
Haley Loffer and
Hattie Hruza had three and two hits, respectively in the win. From her leadoff spot, Loffer scored three runs that sparked an offensive outpouring gave ample support to starting pitcher
Hannah McNerney, who limited the Oaks to just three hits – all of which were singles – to raise her record to 2-1 and lower her ERA to 3.94 on the season.
The Oaks (2-8) were stifled to three hits and the lone RBI came from Hailey Orloff. Starting pitcher Morgan Thomason went the distance, surrendering eight hits, seven runs – all earned in the loss.
C of I got on the board in the top of the first when
Tanner Higgins singled in lead-off batter, Loffer, who started the game with an infield single. The Oaks tied it at 1 in its half of the second.
With the game tied at 1, a two-RBI single by
Kylie Smith put the Yotes ahead for the remainder of the contest. The single scored Loffer and
Alyssa Goff for the 3-1 lead. Next, C of I added two its lead with another two-RBI hit – a double down the left-field line by
Kaily Christensen in the fourth inning. With a 5-1 lead, the Yotes plated two more in the seventh on a two-run home run by
Hattie Hruza for the final margin. The home run by Hruza is her second of the season and the 10th of her career which moves her into the top 15 all-time.
In the nightcap, the bats did not go silent but they remained hot as the Yotes posted an 8-1 win over the Oaks. With the potent bats, C of I also took advantage of four errors by Menlo en route to the win.
Lexi Navarrete added two hits and scored two runs to pace the offense.
C of I starting pitcher Annie Polster held Menlo to four hits and picked up a pair of strikeouts for the win to raise her record to 3-0.
Another three big innings for C of I were a big part of the win as the Yotes plated multiple runs in the third, fourth and fifth inning.
C of I went ahead early in the first on a Christensen sacrifice fly for the early lead. The Yotes added to the lead with three runs on three hits in the third inning for a 4-0 advantage. One of the big blows was a successful steal of home by Higgins to go along with an RBI single by
Makenna Luke and an RBI groundout by Hruza.
Menlo got on the board in its half of the third but the Yotes came right back with two runs in the fourth to take 6-1 lead. Then, they added two more in the fifth as they capitalized on an error by the Oaks for the final margin.
Next, the California road trip resumes on Friday with a game against Antelope Valley at 2 p.m. (PST) and William Jessup at 6 p.m. (PT).
