PORTLAND, Ore. – No. 4 Eastern Oregon softball opened the second half of conference play in dominant fashion Friday afternoon, sweeping Warner Pacific University with a 4-1 win in game one and a 9-0 run-rule victory in five innings in game two to secure the series.
Game 1
Coming off a bye week at the midpoint of conference play, Eastern Oregon wasted no time regaining momentum.
After two scoreless innings—where both teams' only baserunners came via walks—the Mountaineers broke through in the third.
Raygun Klippert sparked the offense with a bunt single, while
Isabella Lauerman and
Lexi Grumbois loaded the bases with a single and a walk.
Emily Barry delivered the big hit, lining a single to left field to drive in two runs.
Warner Pacific answered in the bottom half, capitalizing on two walks and an Eastern Oregon error to trim the deficit to 2-1. The Mountaineers responded in the fourth, as
Elizabeth Heinz laced a two-out double and Klippert followed with an RBI single to extend the lead.
From there, both teams settled into a defensive battle. Warner Pacific managed just one hit the rest of the way, while Eastern Oregon added an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single from Grumbois to seal the 4-1 victory.
Camille Schmitz (10-0) earned the win in relief, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing just one hit. Kili Makanani (6-8) took the loss for the Knights.
Game 2
Klippert made history in the opener, becoming Eastern Oregon's single-season stolen base record holder. She swiped both second and third in the first inning before scoring the game's first run, bringing her season total to 30 and her career mark to 53—just shy of the program record despite being only a sophomore.
Eastern Oregon added another run in the third, stringing together hits from Heinz and Lauerman before Grumbois drove in a run with a groundout.
The Mountaineers blew the game open in the fourth, erupting for seven runs on six hits and a Warner Pacific error. Barry led off with a double, followed by a
Hope Burke single. RBIs from
Kelly Monaghan and
Sydney Stocker pushed across two more runs, while two walks and a costly error in center field allowed three additional runs to score.
Allison Baumgart and
Kaya Enriquez capped the inning with the final two runs.
Maliyah Mann dominated in the circle, tossing a complete-game shutout over five innings. She allowed just two hits and limited traffic on the bases while striking out 11. With the win, Mann improved to 13-1. Kaylee Pokorny (5-8) was charged with the loss for Warner Pacific.
Up Next
The Mountaineers and Knights will continue the series Saturday at Milwaukie High School, with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.
