NEWBERG, Ore. --- George Fox softball earned its first sweep of the young season on Sunday, Feb. 21, after taking down Bushnell in back-to-back games, 14-6 and 15-3.

How It Happened

The Bruins fell behind early in game one after a two-run shot by the Beacons in the second frame. They were able to tie up with a two-run shot of their own in the third off the bat of Katie Ladd to left center. The Beacons pulled back in front with two more home runs in the fourth, but the Bruins blew the game open in the bottom half of the inning. The Bruins batted through the order and plated 11 runs in the frame - almost all of them with two outs - including a grand slam from Claire Fountain and a bases-clearing double from Kamryn Potter for a 5-13 lead. BU got one more run in the fifth, but the Bruins were able to walk it off on an RBI single from Emma Classen for the five-inning win.

Game two was all Bruins from start to finish. The Bruins plated three runs in the first, five in the second, four in the third, and three in the fourth frame. Ladd lifted the Bruins' second grand slam of the day in the second frame and Fountain hit her second three-run shot of the weekend in the third frame. BU plated three runs across the five frames, but it wasn't enough as the Bruins cruised to the sweep on the power of their bats.

Top Performers

Fountain is now hitting .385 through the weekend with 14 RBI and four extra-base hits, including three jacks. Ladd is hitting .357 with three homers of her own, and Potter leads the team with a .583 average and three extra-base hits of her own.

Their Thoughts

"[The hitting performance] comes from a lot of hard work and the team support is great," said Fountain afterward. "When everybody's helping everybody out it's easy to do your job and do it well, so I think a lot of that comes from the team [as well]. I've just been looking for my pitches and being okay with taking strikes on pitches I don't want, that's a major thing, and knowing that I CAN hit the ball and having that confidence."

"Between graduation and a shortened season last year, we have a lot of players that haven't gotten a ton of time in the field," said coach Jessica Hollen, "[so] it was good to see us play with discipline and confidence. We made the most of our opportunities."

What It Means

The Bruins improve to 3-1 overall on the year after the sweep and are showing off their hitting skills early this season after plenty of extra-base hits this weekend.

What Happens Next

The Bruins will host Southern Oregon, the No. 1-ranked team in the NAIA preseason coaches' poll, in Newberg on Friday, Feb. 26.