LA GRANDE, Ore. – After dropping the opening games of the series to RV College of Idaho on Friday, No. 1 Eastern Oregon Softball responded in dominant fashion Saturday, sweeping the doubleheader behind a 20-hit explosion in game three and a thrilling, back-and-forth finish in game four. The Mounties claimed game three, 12–7, and edged out game four, 9–8.
Game 3
After a quiet day at the plate on Friday, Eastern Oregon's offense came alive in a big way.
College of Idaho jumped out to an early 3–0 lead in the first inning, but the Mounties answered with a run of their own in the bottom half. The Yotes added another run on a solo home run in the second to extend their lead to 4–1.
Eastern Oregon broke through in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded,
Isabella Lauerman drew a walk, followed by a right-side groundout from
Lexi Grumbois and a Yotes error that allowed two more runs to score, tying the game at 4–4.
The Mounties briefly took the lead in the third on an RBI single from Lauerman, but College of Idaho answered right back to even the score at 5–5.
Eastern Oregon seized control in the fourth, erupting for six runs on eight hits.
Emily Barry and
Hope Burke launched back-to-back home runs to plate three runs, and
Brylin Field later added a three-run shot to cap the inning.
The power surge continued in the fifth, as
Allison Baumgart led off with a solo home run. The Yotes responded with a two-run homer from Lena Zahniser, but it wasn't enough to close the gap.
Both teams were held in check down the stretch, and Eastern Oregon secured the 12–7 victory.
Camille Schmitz (6–0) earned the win, tossing 6.0 innings with three strikeouts. Athena Little (1–1) took the loss for College of Idaho.
Game 4
The series finale delivered a dramatic, back-and-forth battle that came down to the final play.
After a scoreless first inning, College of Idaho struck first with a double from Olivia Asumendi and an RBI single from Audey Sweet. The Yotes added to their lead in the third with an RBI double from Madelyn Powell and a heads-up baserunning play on a deep pop-up to make it 3–0.
Eastern responded in the bottom of the inning, as
Raygun Klippert launched a two-run home run to cut the deficit to one.
College of Idaho extended its lead again in the fifth, using solo home runs from Powell and Asumendi to take a 5–2 advantage. The Mounties answered once more, loading the bases before a sacrifice fly from
Alexis Blankenship and a groundout from Grumbois brought them back within one.
The Yotes pushed their lead to 8–4 with a three-run stretch built on timely hitting and small-ball execution. Eastern Oregon refused to go away, rallying with a two-run home run from
Kelly Monaghan and capitalizing on back-to-back errors to pull within one yet again.
In the seventh, the Mounties' defense delivered, retiring the side in order to set up a final chance at the plate.
Baumgart worked a 10-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and Barry followed with a deep drive down the left-field line that resulted in a ground-rule double, putting the tying run in scoring position.
Hope Burke then came through with a clutch single to center field, tying the game at 8–8.
Moments later, Monaghan grounded to third, and Barry broke for home on the throw. Despite a close play at the plate, the Yotes' catcher was unable to secure the ball, allowing Barry to score the winning run and seal a 9–8 victory for Eastern Oregon.
Schmitz (7–0) picked up her second win of the day in relief, while Drew Williams (7–5) was charged with the loss.
Despite splitting the series 2-2, Eastern Oregon dropped their first series 2-1 in conference play.
Up Next
Eastern Oregon will take a brief break from conference play to host Pacific University on Wednesday, March 25. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
