McMINNVILLE, Ore. --- The No. 23 George Fox softball team lost two heartbreakers late in each matchup to finish their run at the 2022 Northwest Conference Tournament.
Game One
Fox started the day in the winners' bracket with a 2:30 pm matchup against no. 8 Linfield and two long balls made all the difference in the game. The Bruins got a great start from Ashley Davis and watched their seniors do the work for six innings, guiding them to the brink of a championship berth. Davis worked a complete game and shut out the Wildcats for six and a third, riding a one-run lead all the way.
Claire Fountain gave Fox its 1-0 lead with her 43rd career homer to take over the school record from 2021 alumna Savannah Vargas and the Bruins played excellent defense behind their senior hurler to keep the slim edge. With one away in the bottom of the seventh, Fox let two Wildcats aboard and then watched their hosts charge out of the dugout to celebrate a walk-off three-run shot.
Game Two
Despite the nature of their loss, Fox rebounded well and built an early lead in an unexpected game two of the afternoon. A short intermission gave coach Jessica Hollen and her squad enough time to regroup and the Bruins built another early lead with an RBI double from Mikaelie Sullivan in the second inning and a sacrifice fly by Chloe White in the same frame. In the fourth, Fox made it a 3-0 ballgame after stitching together singles from Allisa Yabumoto, Sullivan, and Emma Classen.
Pacific Lutheran plated two in the sixth to cut the lead, but Fox still hung on to a one-run advantage after six full frames.
Davis worked another complete game - her third in less than 24 hours - and again gave her best effort against a squad she had just faced the night before. That effort almost paid off, but a costly error late in the seventh extended the inning long enough for the Lutes' big bats to come to the plate and a bases-clearing double gave PLU a game-winning 5-3 lead that Fox could not overcome in its turn to bat in the bottom of the seventh.
Top Performances
Davis was a workhorse for the entire tournament with nearly 350 pitches in a 24-hour period and did enough to give her teammates the chances they needed. Fountain's career-record homer in the first game of the day was almost a game-winning hit, and Sullivan made the most of her time as a DP in game two with a 3-3 performance at the plate.
What It Means
Fox falls to 31-12 overall this year and has been eliminated in heartbreaking fashion from the NWC postseason after giving its best effort in McMinnville.
Up Next
Fox awaits the decisions of the NCAA Selection Committee to determine its NCAA fate - a 31-12 record merits consideration for the postseason and the Bruins' out-of-conference record should give them a leg to stand on after performing well in Georgia and against SCIAC opponents this season.
