SPOKANE, Wash. – Amanda Woods drove in three runs in visiting George Fox University's 5-3 win in the first game, but the Whitworth University Pirates scored five times in the 6th inning of the second game to earn a 5-1 win and a split of their Northwest Conference softball doubleheader Saturday afternoon here at Marks Field.

George Fox is now 16-22 overall and 13-13 in the conference, while Whitworth is 20-16 overall and 14-10 in league play.  The Pirates are third in the NWC standings while the Bruins fell out of a fourth-place tie with Pacific University, which swept a pair at Lewis & Clark College Saturday, into fifth, one game in back of the 13-11 Boxers. 

Game 1 – George Fox 5, Whitworth 3

Woods put the Bruins ahead for good in the top of the 1st inning of the opener with a double that scored Nicole Renteria and Kayla Anderson, who had reached on a single and a walk respectively.  Whitworth cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning when Makenzie Hope singled up the middle and scored three batters later on a groundout by Heather Hesselgesser.

George Fox pushed two more runs across in the top of the 3rd. Kat Hylton and Renteria singled to start the inning and moved up to third and second on Anderson's fly to right.  Bethany Chriss singled to center to score Hylton, and Renteria continued home when the ball was bobbled.

In the Whitworth 5th, Caylan Haehl singled to short and Jamie Brunner followed with her fifth home run of the season, pulling the Pirates within one at 4-3.  Allyssa DenDekker came on in relief of Bruin southpaw Rachel Fielder (5-7) and notched her first save with 2.1 innings of two-hit shutout relief. 

The Bruins added an insurance run in the 7th when Anderson got all the way to third on an error in right field and scored on a single by Woods.

Fielder earned the win by pitching 4.2 innings, allowing with three runs on six hits with a strikeout and three walks before DenDekker finished up with two strikeouts and two walks. Riley Fritz (12-5) took the loss, pitching 4.0 innings with three earned runs on five hits and three strikeouts.

Renteria, Chriss, and Woods had two hits each for the Bruins out of their total of eight.  Haehl went 3-for-4 at the plate for Whitworth.

Game 2 – Whitworth 5, George Fox 1

George Fox took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning of the nightcap as Anderson singled and Chriss drove her in with a double to right-center.  Bruin starter Erin Hento (4-6) then held the Pirates scoreless on just three hits going into the bottom of the 6th.

The Pirates tied it when Haehl singled with one out and scored on Brunner's double. Hesselgesser's single drove in Brunner to give the Pirates the lead, Megan John singled to left-center to score pinch runner Brittany Connor, and Jessica Ross doubled down the left field line to score John. M'Liss Powles scored the final run of the game on a failed pickoff attempt to give the Bucs a 5-1 lead, and George Fox went down in order in the top of the 7th.

Megan Fisher (3-3) earned the win, striking out seven while allowing two hits and a walk in five innings in relief of starter Taylor Gilbert.  Hento went 5.2 innings, surrendering six hits and three runs with three strikeouts.  DenDekker gave up the final two runs, one unearned, in a third of an inning.

Chriss had two doubles out of the Bruins' six hits.  Brunner, John, and Jessica Ross had two hits apiece out of the Pirates' total of eight.

George Fox and Whitworth will conclude the four-game series with two on Sunday, the first game of the doubleheader starting at 12:00 noon.