REDDING, Calif. – Simpson's pitchers tossed 21 strikeouts in two games, and the Eastern Oregon University softball team tallied just eight hits on the day en route to suffering a pair of losses to the Red Hawks on Sunday afternoon.

GAME ONE – SIMPSON 9, EOU 1 (6 INNINGS)
Simpson (6-0) used big fourth and sixth innings to hand EOU a 9-1 defeat in game one.

Junior catcher Alex Shuster led the Mountaineers with a pair of hits, while junior right fielder Cheyenne Barker plated one RBI on the day.

In the circle, junior pitcher Alexis Spence forced six groundouts in the losing effort, while sophomore hurler Ashley Driscoll saw 1.2 innings of action.

After EOU was confined to a quartet of hits in the first four innings, the Mountaineers got on the board in the fifth, as Barker reached on a fielder's choice and Turner came home to cut the deficit to four (5-1).

However, the Red Hawks racked up six hits and four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the Navy and Gold away.

GAME TWO – SIMPSON 4, EOU 1
In game two, Simpson pitcher Paris Hallums struck out nine Mountaineers and yielded only three hits to doom EOU.

The Mountaineers saw Barker, junior pinch hitter Taylor Gerlach, and junior designated player Lauren Burchak muster one hit apiece.

Junior pitcher Haylie VanLaethem notched two strikeouts in 4.1 innings for EOU.  

Trailing 4-0 in the top of the sixth, EOU plated one run to get on the board. Gerlach belted a leadoff single, and then Burchak launched a one-out single to advance Gerlach to third. Moments later, Shuster tapped an infield hit to reach on a fielder's choice and drive home Gerlach.

But in the top of the seventh, EOU went three-up, three-down, resulting in the three-run defeat.

UP NEXT
EOU (0-4) travels to Happy Valley, Ore., on Feb. 20-21 to compete in the Northwest Cup. First pitch on Feb. 20 against Simon Fraser is set for 9:30 a.m.