FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Hoping to bounce back from a difficult road trip earlier in the week to southern California, the George Fox University Bruins found a return to Northwest Conference play no easier as they dropped a softball twinbill to the Pacific University Boxers 8-1 and 7-5 Friday afternoon here at Sherman/Larkins Stadium.

Game 1 – Pacific 8, George Fox 1

The Boxers got on the board early in the opener as Becca Moen drew a walk, moved to second on a single through the right side by Rachel Roberts, and Marissa Reichard tripled to right-center to score them both in the 1st.
 
A five-run Boxer rally in the 5th all but clinched the game.  Roberts opened the rally with an infield single and advanced to second on Reichard's single through the left side. Jessie Moore drew a walk to load the bases, and Megan Winans singled through the right side to score Roberts and Reichard.  Ashley Mitchell capped the scoring with a three-run blast over the center field wall, her third home run of the season.
 
Reichard (7-3) held the Bruins through 5.1 innings before the visitors put up a run. Singles by Jenna Kirk and Amanda Woods around a walk to Kayla Anderson filled the bases, and Courtney Howard drew a walk to force in Kirk. 

Reichard allowed all four George Fox hits, with six strikeouts and four walks, before Chloe Hanson came in to finish the game, allowing no hits with one strikeout and one walk in 1.2 innings of work.  Allyssa DenDekker (5-4) suffered the setback for the Bruins, surrendering four hits and two runs in 3.2 innings with two strikeouts and three walks.  The rest of the Pacific runs came off Erin Hento.

Roberts had three of the Boxers' 10 hits, while Reichard and Winans had two apiece.  No Bruin had multiple hits.

Game 2 – Pacific 7, George Fox 5

The start of the second game proved to be the opposite of the first as the Bruins got on the board in the top of the 1st.  Kat Hylton was hit by a pitch, Bethany Chriss singled, and Kirk singled down the left-field line as Hylton scored.  Woods singled to load the bases, and Chriss continued on home when the Boxers threw the ball elsewhere trying for another runner.

The Boxers came back in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. With one out, Roberts singled to left-center, stole second, advanced to third on Reichard's single to left, and scored on Jessie Moore's single through the left side. Mitchell singled in the infield to score Reichard and advanced Megan Sigler, a pinch runner for Moore, to third. Kylee Oshiro doubled to right-center to score Sigler.
 
Four more runs in the 2nd capped the Boxers' scoring for the game and turned out to be enough for the win. Moen singled up the middle, Roberts singled to left, and Reichard bunted for a hit to load the bases. Moore cleared the bases with a double to left-center, and Oshiro doubled to right-center to score Moore.
 
The Bruins came back in the top of the 4th and got to Boxer starter Sara Aasness.  Hylton reached on a force out, Nicole Renteria bunted for a hit, and Anderson hit her fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left-center.  Shannon Miller (1-1) came in stem the tide and get the win, while Hanson came in for the 6th and worked two one-hit scoreless innings for her first save.

Rachel Fielder (3-5) went all the way for the Bruins, allowing seven runs on 13 hits while striking out two and walking two.  Roberts led the Boxers at the plate, going 3-for-4, while Moen, Reichard, Moore and Oshiro each had two hits, with Moore driving in four runs. 

The Bruins collected 12 hits, with Hylton, Anderson, Chriss, Kirk and Woods each getting two.  Anderson had three RBIs.

George Fox saw its losing streak reach eight as the Bruins fell to 13-17 overall and 10-8 in the NWC.  Pacific improved to 15-13 overall and 10-8 in the league.

The Boxers and Bruins finish their four-game series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 noon at Sherman/Larkins Stadium. A live video webcast will be available at http://www.goboxers.com/webcasts.