CALDWELL, Idaho – Mountaineers Softball pushed their winning streak to six Tuesday afternoon with a pair of hard fought road wins over Interstate-84 rival College of Idaho. Eastern Oregon swept the doubleheader against the Yotes, 4-0 and 9-8, to salvage a series split. With the sweep, EOU improves to 27-10 overall and 14-4 in league play.

Game 1 – Eastern Oregon 4, No. 5 College of Idaho 0 (8 Innings)
How it Happened
• Defense was once again the theme in the first match-up as the game went into an extra frame to determine the winner. EOU played a clean game, while C of I (28-8, 14-4 CCC) had one error that proved costly.
• The game saw a combined total of seven hits tallied. EOU led the way with four with three coming in the eighth inning alone for the win.
• Starter Amanda Smith worked four innings where she went 1-2-3 en route to the win. She allowed no more than one hit in any inning and held the Yotes hitless in the final four frames.
• In the eighth, EOU racked up three hits and scored all four runs in that span. Karsyn Zaragoza led off with a single and ultimately was the gamewinning run.
• The Yotes got a pair of outs before their lone error cost them the game. Shelby Starr got on from the error in right field, allowing Zaragoza to come in and give EOU the 1-0 edge.
• Following the error, Caitlin Crist hit a single to keep the rally going. Enter Madison Stateler. The sophomore smacked a three-run homer to left field, giving EOU a commanding 4-0 lead.
• Smith and the defense made quick work of the Yotes to secure the win as a fly out and two groundouts gave EOU the win. The victory also helped EOU avoid the 3-0 sweep in league play.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Caitlin Crist led the way in total hits, going 2-4 and scored one run.
• Madison Stateler hit 1-3, a home run, and had three RBI to go along with a run scored.
• Karsyn Zaragoza hit 1-2 with a run scored and drew a walk.
• Amanda Smith improved to 13-3 in the complete game win. She fanned four batters.

For the Yotes
• Haley Loffer tallied two of the team's three hits, going 2-4.
• Sydney Zachry had the only other hit, going 1-3.
• Katelyn Wilfert (9-3) pitched a complete game. She had four strikeouts in the loss.

Game 2 – Eastern Oregon 9, No. 5 College of Idaho 8
How it Happened
• The second contest looked like it might be another defensive fight, but 17 combined runs in the final four frames proved otherwise. 22 total hits were tallied with EOU leading the way 12-10.
• Both teams committed a pair of errors in the game. The Yotes made a near comeback in the bottom of the seventh, scoring five runs to get within one before EOU closed the game.
• Long ball hitting and extra base hits were the theme as there were three home runs hit and a total of nine extra base hits. EOU won the home run battle, 2-1 en route to the sweep.
• After a scoreless three innings, offense picked up. Madison Stateler smacked her second homer of the day with a leadoff shot to left center to give EOU the 1-0 lead in the fourth.
• C of I answered in the bottom of the inning thanks to an RBI fielder's choice to tie the game. The offensive fight continued with both teams scoring two runs in the fifth to keep it tied at 3-all.
• Shelby Starr tacked on the first run with an RBI sacrifice fly, scoring Kayla Berg. A pair of singles got two runners on after a Hannah Tyree RBI single scored Caitlin Crist.
• The Yotes got two runs thanks to three hits and a walk. A sacrifice fly scored the first run before a single up the middle tied the game at 3-3.
• The sixth belonged to EOU as the team scored four runs and held the Yotes scoreless to lead 7-3. An RBI single from Berg scored Gaither who led off the inning with a double.
• With Berg and Zaragoza on base with two outs, Crist delivered a three-run homer to left field to make it a 7-3 game. Reliever Abby Giles closed the frame with two fly outs and a groundout.
• Eastern tacked on two more runs in the seventh, which proved to be valuable as they held off a furious five-run rally by C of I. Berg tripled to score Allyson Bates and got home on an error.
• Going into the bottom of the inning, EOU led 9-3. The Yotes near comeback saw them tally five runs on four hits and they had help from a Mounties error.
• A leadoff home run quickly made it a 9-4 game. C of I then loaded the bases and plated two runs on a double to left center to cut EOU's lead to three, 9-6.
• An RBI groundout on the next at bat made it a 9-7 game. EOU then forced another groundout before a single up the middle scored the final run. A fly to center field ended the game to give EOU the slim one-run win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Caitlin Crist hit 3-4 with a home run. She tallied three RBI and scored two runs.
• Kayla Berg batted 3-4 with two RBI and scored three runs.
• Madison Stateler hit a home run, finishing 2-4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
• Grace Gaither knocked two hits in four at bats and scored one run.
• Reliever Abby Giles pitched 1.1 innings and earned the win to improve to 6-1.
• Mckenna Stallings got the start and re-entered late to ultimately earn the save. She had one strikeout in five innings pitched..

For the Yotes
• Hattie Hruza hit a home run and batted 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Lindsey Jones hit 2-4 with two RBI and scored one run.
• Tanner Higgins went 1-3 at the plate with an RBI and scored two runs.
• Lauren Gordon finished 2-4 at the plate in the loss.
• Reliever Annie Polsetr (6-2) suffered the loss in two innings pitched. She had one strikeout.
• Hannah McNerney pitched five frames in the start and fanned two batters.

By the Numbers
6 - With the game one shutout, EOU has now posted six shutout wins this season.
14 - EOU has now won 14 CCC games this season, the most since winning 15 in 2018.
2 - Madison Stateler hit two homers on Tuesday, which are her first of the season.
3 - Eastern tallied three home runs against the Yotes and has hit at least one homer in the last three games.
1 - With the two wins on Tuesday, EOU is guaranteed to finish with a winning record in the regular season.
2 - With the sweep of C of I, Head Coach Nicole Christian secured her first two career wins over the Yotes.
13 - Amanda Smith picked up her 13th win of the season in game one & it was her 13th complete game this year.

Up Next
• EOU returns home this weekend for a four-game series against Corban University, April 8-9. Day one first pitch at Peggy Anderson Field will be at 2 p.m., with game two to follow at 4 p.m. The second day will get started at 11 a.m. for game one, with game two set for a 1 p.m. start.

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