NEWBERG, Ore. – The George Fox softball team snapped their seven-game losing streak in a big way, taking down the Pacific Boxers, 3-1 and 8-0.
Game One
The Fox bats were quiet in the opening innings of the game – recording two hits but just three baserunners in the first three innings. The Boxers took an early lead in the top of the third off of a Savannah Rod RBI single, the lone run Pacific scored on the day.
Still trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, Fox pulled through to snag the lead.
Emma Classen reached base on a double to right field, before advancing to third on an error. One at-bat later,
Sharon Tomei brought Classen home on a sac fly to tie the game, 1-1.
Sydney Sandifer, however, was not happy with a tie game — the sophomore belted a ball over the left field fence to put the Bruins up, 3-1.
After starter
Kami Gibson pitched four and two-third innings,
Emma Eastman came in to finish the job and earn the win for the Bruins. Eastman struck out three of the ten batters faced, holding off any Boxer comeback attempts in Fox's 3-1 win.
Game Two
The second game of the afternoon started out similarly, with neither team scoring through in the first two innings. That changed in the third, where the Bruins exploded for their highest-scoring inning of the season with five. Fox loaded the bases without picking up a hit thanks to two walks and a hit-by-pitch before
Ashley Sansoni stepped to the plate.
Sansoni hammered a ball deep for a grand slam — the second grand slam of the young season — to put the Bruins up, 4-0.
Aliya Harmon kept things going, driving home Classen later in the inning to give Fox a 5-0 lead. Defensively,
Ashley Davis and
Jenna Kister held the Boxers to just four hits as the offense continued to grow their lead.
Fox scored one run in each of the next three innings, with the final run of the day coming in style. After two sac flies — one by
Claire Fountain and the other by
Kamryn Potter —Sandifer had a chance to end the game with her team up, 7-0. Once again, the sophomore sent the first pitch she saw over the fence to end the game via mercy rule, 8-0.
Top Performances
Sandifer finished with two home runs on the day and three RBIs, with Sansoni hitting the grand slam. Classen led the team with four hits, and Gibson led the way with six strikeouts.
Coach's Thoughts
"It was nice to see our pitchers battle and to have our offense step up with some timely hits," Bruin head coach
Jessica Hollen said, "Hoping to build on this momentum as we move deeper into our season."
What It Means
Fox improves to 4-8 (2-4 NWC) on the year, while Pacific drops to 3-9 (1-4 NWC).
What Comes Next
The Bruins will be right back at Morse on Sunday to finish out their weekend series against Pacific. Game one is scheduled to begin at 11:00 am.
