HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. – Stretching their current winning streak to seven - their second-longest of the season after winning their first nine - the George Fox University Bruins returned to Northwest Conference softball action with a sweep of the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers, 8-1 and 10-4, in a pair of makeup games Thursday afternoon here at Hood View Park.

The games were shifted to Hood View's artificially-turfed fields early Thursday when recent rains while the Bruins were out of town winning five straight in the Tucson Invitational Games left their home Morse Field too wet to play on.  The Bruins and Pioneers have now made up three of the four games in their series that was rained out on Mar. 8-9.

Game 1 - George Fox 8, Lewis & Clark 1

Kat Hylton was the offensive catalyst for the Bruins in the opener as she went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs.  Her two-run double in the middle of a four-run 1st inning in which the Bruins capitalized on a two-out dropped fly in left to score all the runs they would need was a crucial blow.

Felicia Chavez and Megan Furtado singled to start the 1st-inning rally, but Lewis & Clark hurler Madison Hollenbeck (5-9) appeared to be out of the inning after getting two outs on a pop up, a fly to right, and another fly to left by Courtney Howard.  The last was misplayed, however, allowing Chavez to score, and Hylton drilled a ball into the gap in left-center to score Furtado and Howard.  Becca Olson's line single off the leg of the third baseman scored Baylee Westrick, who had reached on a walk, to cap the outburst.

Olson lined a double over the head of the center fielder to score Hylton, who had walked, in the 3rd, and Hylton slugged her second home run of the season, a solo shot, to left in the 5th.  The Bruins added their last two runs in the 6th on an RBI single by Amanda Woods and a throwing error at third as Chavez scored.

The Bruins' 10-hit assault backed a solid effort on the mound by Erin Hento (8-4), who scattered four hits over six innings, with seven strikeouts and two walks.  She got five straight outs on punch-outs for the last two outs in the 2nd and all three in the 3rd.  The only run she allowed was a solo shot to left by Hollenbeck, her second, in the 4th.  Woods mopped up with a shutout 7th inning.

Game 2 - George Fox 10, Lewis & Clark 4

Chavez hit her second gram slam home run of the season, both against the Pios, to cap an eight-run 1st inning onslaught that effectively put the game out of reach.  Chavez was hit by a pitch to start the inning before Furtado doubled and Kayla Anderson singled in a run.  Two runs came home when Woods' grounder to third was thrown away, and Howard doubled in the fourth run.  Chavez stepped to the plate for the second time in the frame with Hylton, Olson and Ashley Bunce aboard and sliced a liner over the left-field fence to clear the bases.  All the runs came off starter Hallie Knife (0-5), the last five unearned. 

The Bruins got two more in the 2nd off reliever Kalin Rooney on a pair of RBI grounders by Howard and Westrick that scored Anderson and Woods, but Rooney allowed no more hits after Olson doubled leading off the 3rd.  The damage had been done, however, and the Pios never caught up.

Alyssa DenDekker (6-2) went the distance for the Bruins, allowing 11 hits and four runs with three strikeouts and a walk.  Haley Robinson had three hits for the Pios while Hannah Dal Pra and Kylee Kennel had two each.  Anderson was the only Bruin with two hits in the nightcap.

“Things are coming together nicely right now,” admitted George Fox head coach Jessica Hollen when looking back over the Bruins' seven-game winning streak. “It was good to get a big early lead in that second game; that gave us an opportunity to insert some kids into the game that we could be counting on down the road.  We're playing with some pretty good confidence right now, and we'll need it this weekend at Whitworth; they're a very good ball club that is also playing well, so this will be a big series.”

George Fox is 18-6 overall and 7-5 in the conference, resting in fourth place, while Lewis & Clark is 6-16 overall and 2-11 in the league.  The Bruins now head to Spokane, Wash., for doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at 12:00 noon against the second-place Whitworth University Pirates, who are 19-7 overall and 11-3 in the NWC.  The Pioneers host Pacific University Saturday and Sunday, also 12:00 noon twinbills.