CALDWELL, Idaho – No. 6 The College of Idaho softball team swept a doubleheader against Bushnell, winning 5-1 and 10-1 in a twinbill on Friday afternoon at Symms Field.
The nationally-ranked Yotes bounced back from a pair of loss to Eastern Oregon on Tuesday on the strength of solid pitching by
Katelyn Wilfert (pictured) and
Hannah McNerney, who each reached the 10-win mark in the doubleheader sweep. Wilfert pitched a one-hitter and struck out eight in the game one victory. McNerney picked up where her teammate left off, scattering seven hits and striking out two. Wilfert raises her record to 10-3 and lowers her ERA to 1.13 with her effort, McNerney improves to 10-2 and lowers her ERA to 3.36.
Game 1
The two teams were tied at 1 in the first game until the bottom of the sixth.
Tanner Higgins led off the inning with a triple to the gap in right-center field, next
Hattie Hruza brought her in on a RBI single. Then, a well-placed sacrifice bunt by
Lindsey Jones and a hustling Hruza moved her to third putting her 60 feet away from another run. After the bunt, with one out,
Lexi Navarrete also found the gap between right and center field to score Hruza to put the Yotes ahead 3-1. The third run of the inning for C of I came in when the Beacons misplayed a fly ball off the bat of
Makenna Luke to score Navarrete from second.
Next,
Hannah Mikel came off the bench with a pinch-hit RBI single to score Luke for the fourth run of the inning.
For the game, Hruza and Navarrete each had two hits and a RBI in the win to pace the Yotes in the win. The lone hit for the Beacons was a solo home run by Sam Silver in the third inning that spoiled both a shutout and no-hitter for Wilfert.
Game 2
College of Idaho plated three runs in the first inning for an early 3-0 that included a pair of RBI doubles by
Kylie Smith and Navarrete, respectively. Bushnell managed to plate a run in the second inning, cutting into the Yotes lead for a 3-1 contest.
Next, the Yotes added to its lead when Hruza hit a solo home run in the third inning for her eighth home run of the season. For her career, Hruza now has 16 home runs which ranks seventh all-time.
The fourth inning saw College of Idaho score six runs on three hits, including a grand slam by Navarrete. For Navarrete, she finished the game with five RBIs, the most since
Haley Loffer also had five against Northwest (Mar. 11, 2022).
For the game, Hruza finished with three hits to lead a 10-hit attack to go along with two RBI. Loffer and Navarrete each had two hits in the win for the Yotes.
The two teams will wrap up the weekend series with an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday at Symms Field.
