LA GRANDE, Ore. – A late (RV) Yote comeback and powerful offense gave Eastern Oregon softball their first series loss of the season, with the Mounties dropping game one 8-7, and game two 9-1 in a 5 inning run rule.
Game 1
The Yotes threatened early in the opening inning, loading the bases with two outs, but Eastern Oregon escaped the jam unscathed. The Mountaineers responded in the bottom half, jumping out to a 4-0 lead highlighted by a two-out, three-run home run from
Allison Baumgart.
Elizabeth Heinz added an RBI single to cap the inning.
College of Idaho answered immediately, cutting the deficit to one. With two outs and two runners on, Kina Watts doubled to left-center to bring home two runs. Lena Zahniser followed with an RBI single, trimming the score to 4-3. The Yotes later evened things up with a leadoff home run from Marti Anderson.
The game remained tied until the fifth inning, when
Kelly Monaghan launched a three-run homer to give Eastern a 7-4 advantage. After a scoreless sixth, College of Idaho surged in the seventh.
Madelyn Powell opened the inning with a two-run home run to pull within one. Anderson followed with a solo shot to tie the game at 7-7. After a pitching change, the Yotes loaded the bases and took the lead on a sacrifice fly.
College of Idaho held Eastern to just one hit in the final frame to secure the 8-7 victory.
Rylee Smith (4-2) earned the win with 4.2 innings of relief, while Kina Watts recorded the save.
Hannah Ebner (0-2) took the loss for Eastern Oregon.
Game 2
The Yotes carried their momentum into game two, quickly taking a 3-0 lead on a three-run home run by Madelyn Powell. They threatened to add more, but Eastern worked out of the inning. The Mountaineers scored their lone run in the bottom of the first, as
Raygun Klippert came home on a Yote error.
After a quiet second inning, College of Idaho extended its lead in the third with another solo home run from Anderson. The Yotes then broke the game open in the fourth, capitalizing on an Eastern error and a sacrifice fly before loading the bases. Powell delivered the decisive blow, launching her third home run of the day—a grand slam—to make it 9-1.
Camille Schmitz entered in relief for Eastern and held the Yotes scoreless over the final 2.2 innings, but the Mountaineers' offense remained quiet as the game ended in a run rule after five innings.
Drew Williams (7-4) earned the win, allowing just one run on three hits over five innings.
Natalie Dimitrov (4-2) was charged with the loss.
Up Next
The series continues tomorrow, with the final conference matchup beginning at 11 a.m., followed by a nonconference game.
