NEWBERG, Ore. --- The George Fox softball team battled close in the first game and gave a spirited effort in the second, but it was ultimately not enough to take down the No. 6-ranked Linfield Wildcats.

Game One

The first two and a half innings stayed scoreless as both the Wildcats and the Bruins struggled to get their bats going. Both Fox starter Ashle Davis and Wildcat starter Tayah Kelley pitched complete games, each giving up less than five hits.

Sydney Sandifer put the Bruins up early on a solo shot in the bottom of the third. Unfortunately, Bruin errors undid Davis' fourth inning; back-to-back dropped pop ups allowed the Wildcats to score three unearned runs in the fourth — their only runs of the game.

Fox was unable to muster any offense until the bottom of the seventh inning when Emma Classen doubled to center, setting up a possible scoring opportunity. With Sandifer up to bat, Kelley delivered her 22nd strikeout of the series, ending the game and handing Fox a 1-3 loss.

Game Two

The Bruins shot out of the gates in the second game of the afternoon, scoring one run and placing three on base with no outs. However, a strikeout and a double play ensured that the Bruins got no more than one run in the inning.

Those three stranded runners proved to be costly for the Bruins just one half inning later, as the WIldcat bats came alive; Linfield scored five runs on five hits in the inning as the top team in the league jumped out to a four run advantage. 

Linfield threatened to run-rule the Bruins in the top of the fifth, scoring another run to go up 8-1. Rather than hang her head, pitcher Emma Eastman — who took over for Elise Wilkinson in that fateful second inning — did not allow another run the rest of the game.

Although the Bruins never seriously threatened the large Wildcat lead, they did make things interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Emma Classen started out the inning with a home run. Just one pitch later, Sandifer launched her second ball of the day over the fence. In just two pitches, Fox hit back-to-back homers to narrow the lead to four. The brief glimmer of hope from those shots ultimately fell away, as the next three Bruin batters flew out in the 4-8 loss.

Top Performances

Sandifer, who headed into the day with one home run in her collegiate career, hit two on the day, both solo shots. Classen had the home run and one other hit, while Sharon Tomei and Kamryn Potter picked up an RBI apiece for the Bruins

What It Means

Fox fell to 14-8 overall and is 9-5 against NWC opponents this season, while the Wildcats improved to 19-3 on the season with an 11-1 NWC mark.

Up Next

The Bruins will be back in action at home next Friday to take on the La Verne Leopards for a non conference doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.