REDDING, Calif. – The Eastern Oregon softball team earned two more road victories Saturday, defeating Simpson University (Calif.) 8–2 in game one and 18–9 via the six-inning run rule in game two at Simpson Field, extending their strong start in conference play.
Game 1
The Mountaineers held the Red Hawks to just one base runner through the first three innings while reaching base three times themselves, but neither team could score early.
Eastern broke through in the top of the fourth.
Lexi Grumbois opened the inning with a single to right field and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by
Allison Baumgart.
Elizabeth Heinz followed with a single to drive in Grumbois, giving Eastern a 1–0 lead.
Simpson responded in the bottom of the inning, tying the game at 1–1 on a walk and RBI single. The Red Hawks threatened further with a single and a fielder's choice, but
Maliyah Mann worked out of the jam with two strikeouts and heads-up defensive plays.
Eastern added insurance in the fifth inning.
Isabella Lauerman and Baumgart reached on walks to set up
Hope Burke, who crushed a three-run homer to make it 4–1.
Raygun Klippert contributed a sacrifice fly in the sixth to extend the lead to 5–1. Simpson managed a single run in the sixth, but Eastern's offense remained dominant, scoring three more runs in the final inning while shutting Simpson down on the bases to secure the 8–2 victory.
Mann (10–1) earned the win with four innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts.
Hannah Ebner worked one inning, and
Camille Schmitz closed out the game with two innings and two strikeouts for her second save of the season. Jacquelyn Lujan (2–5) took the loss for the Red Hawks.
Game 2
Eastern Oregon's offense exploded in the second game, cruising to an 18–9 victory in six innings to complete the series sweep.
The Mountaineers struck first, taking advantage of a Simpson error as
Emily Barry delivered a sacrifice fly to score Klipppert, followed by an RBI single from
Hope Burke to make it 2–0. Simpson cut the lead in half with a double and an RBI single.
EOU added a run in the second before erupting for eight runs in the third inning. Strings of hits and Red Hawk errors allowed the Mountaineers to build a commanding lead. Simpson threatened with four baserunners and two hits, but Eastern escaped without surrendering a big inning.
In the fourth, Eastern added four more runs through hits, sacrifice bunts, and sacrifice flies to extend the lead to 16–2. Simpson countered in the fifth, plating seven runs on four hits and two Mountie errors, but it wasn't enough.
Lexi Grumbois capped the scoring with a two-run homer, and Eastern limited Simpson to just one baserunner in the final inning to secure the six-inning run-rule victory.
Natalie Dimitrov (4–1) earned the win with 2.1 innings of relief, while Lily Rojas (1–6) took the loss for Simpson.
Up Next
After three series in conference play, the Mountaineers hold an 8–1 CCC record and 19–3 overall. Eastern Oregon will return home to host The College of Idaho March 20–21, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
