NAMPA, Idaho – The Eastern Oregon University softball team bounced back from a game-one defeat to Northwest Nazarene (NNU) with a 7-5 triumph over the Crusaders in game two at Halle Field on Friday afternoon. 

GAME TWO
EOU 7, NNU 5
In the second affair of the doubleheader, EOU plated five runs in the opening two frames to build a lead and held off a late NNU rally to dial in a 7-5 victory. 

Junior designated player Lauren Burchak registered two hits and plated a pair of runs for EOU, while senior first baseman Marisa Gonzalez mustered two RBI and hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. In addition, junior left fielder Taylor Turner tallied two hits for the Mountaineers.

Sophomore pitcher Hailey Kline collected her second victory in the circle, posting three strikeouts and yielding only one earned run in 6.2 innings.

In the opening stanza, EOU took advantage of two early walks and plated three runs to snag a 3-0 advantage. After Turner opened the game with a single up the middle, both senior shortstop Haley Hess and junior right fielder Cheyenne Barker reached on walks to load the bases. A Gonzalez hit-by-pitch put EOU on the board, and then Burchak launched an RBI single to make it a 2-0 game. Moments later, senior center fielder Shelby Baertsch picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice to cap EOU's scoring in the inning.

The Mountaineers (2-8) plated two more runs in the second inning thanks to an RBI groundout by Barker and an RBI single by Burchak.

In the fourth frame, Gonzalez belted her fourth homer of the year, and then sophomore second baseman Maryssa Santi followed with an RBI double to make it a 7-0 ball game.

However, the Crusaders (5-6) bounced back with five runs in the later innings, including a three-run bomb by Kylie Orr in the sixth to trim EOU's advantage to two (7-5).

With sophomore pitcher Ashley Driscoll in the circle, EOU yielded a single before retiring the bottom half of NNU's lineup to seal the victory.

GAME ONE
NNU 7, EOU 1
EOU left nine runners stranded and coughed up two errors in its loss to NNU in game one.

Hess batted 2-for-4 in the losing effort, while Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with one RBI.

In the circle, junior righty Haylie Van Laethem yielded five earned runs in 1.2 innings, while Driscoll recorded one strikeout and forced six flyouts in 4.1 innings.

Trailing 6-0 in the top of the third, Barker belted a one-out double to center, and then Gonzalez followed with an RBI double to put the Mountaineers on the board.

EOU put a runner in scoring position in the fourth and sixth innings, but pitcher Brooke Bonsen and the rest of the NNU's defense managed to keep EOU at bay, 7-1.

UP NEXT
EOU concludes its doubleheader series with NNU tomorrow at 10 a.m. PST.