LA GRANDE, Ore. – Mountaineers Softball dropped a pair of close games Tuesday afternoon as the team fell 1-0 and 3-0 to rival College of Idaho at home. The Mountaineers battled in both games but ultimately came up short in defensive battles. With the two losses, Eastern Oregon's record falls to 21-10 overall and 10-4 in league play.
Game 1 – College of Idaho 1, Eastern Oregon 0 (8 Innings)
How it Happened
• Defense was stout for both squads as there were just eight combined hits. College of Idaho (28-6, 14-3 CCC) had the edge at 5-3, but had one error while EOU played a clean game.
• The first game needed an extra inning to decide the winner. The Yotes ultimately secured the win as a solo home run was all that was needed to give the visitors the win.
• Both squads worked 1-2-3 frames in three innings each. Overall, the Mounties left eight runners stranded, while the Yotes stranded four.
• In the eighth, the Yotes tacked on the lone run of the game with the swing of Haley Loffer. She smacked a solo home run that brought the score to the final of 1-0.
• Eastern did threaten in the bottom of the eighth, getting two runners on with two outs. The Yotes held on though, forcing a strikeout to close the game for the series opening win.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
•
Madison Stateler batted 1-3.
•
Karsyn Zaragoza also went 1-3 at the plate.
•
Caitlin Crist was 1-4.
• In the circle,
Amanda Smith (10-3) pitched a complete game and fanned four batters.
For the Yotes
• Haey Loffer batted 2-4 with a home run for the lone RBI of the game.
• Hattie Hruza was 2-3 at the plate.
• Tanner Higgins batted 1-3.
• Katelyn Wilfert (9-2) pitched a complete game and had a game-high eight strikeouts.
Game 2 – College of Idaho 3, Eastern Oregon 0
How it Happened
• The second game was another defensive fight. The yotes had the edge in hits again, 8-4, while both teams played a clean game.
• Both squads stranded five runners in the game, but C of I was the more efficient team scoring runs in two different innings.
• The Yotes scored once in the fifth and twice in the seventh to hold on for the three-run win. EOU worked a 1-2-3 frame in two innings, while C of I had just one inning of a 1-2-3 outing.
• The first run for C of I came in the top of the fifth. A leadoff walk got a runner on for the Yotes before a Hallie Holland RBI single scored the runner to make it a 1-0 contest.
• The score remained at 1-0 until the seventh when the Yotes added two insurance runs. The first run scored on a wild pitch while the second was added on an RBI single to make it 3-0.
• Similar to game one, EOU once again threatened in the final inning. Two runners got on with two outs, but C of I ended the game with a strikeout on the final batter to secure the 2-0 sweep.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
•
Kayla Berg batted 2-3.
•
Caitlin Crist went 1-3 at the plate.
•
Karsyn Zaragoza was 1-2 in the loss.
•
Mckenna Stallings (5-4) pitched a complete game and struck out three batters.
For the Yotes
• Hallie Holland batted 2-3 with one RBI and scored a run.
• Makenna Luke was 1-2 at the plate and scored one run.
• Kylie Smith went 1-3 with one RBI and drew a walk.
• Hannah McNerney (9-2) pitched a complete game and had a game best four strikeouts.
By the Numbers
0 - EOU did not score one run in either game on Tuesday.
7 - The Mounties were held to seven hits in the doubleheader against the Yotes.
10 -
Amanda Smith pitched her 10th complete game in the series opener against C of I.
9 - The Yotes have now won each of the last nine match-ups against the Mounties.
Up Next
• The Mountaineers will hit the road for their next six games, beginning with a four-game series at Warner Pacific in Portland on April 1-2. Day one action begins at 1 p.m., with day two starting at 11 a.m.
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