NEWBERG, Ore. – The Bruins Softball team finished off the weekend with another split with the Puget Sound Loggers, winning the first game 9-1, but dropping the second, 8-9.

How It Happened - Game One
Sharon Tomei got the Bruins on the board early, with a two RBI double to bring home Makayla Noone and Kamryn Potter before the Loggers could register an out. A Sami Stadtlander RBI single tacked on another run, and Fox jumped out to an early 3-0 lead,

Emma Eastman showed great command in the game, giving up just one run in five innings pitched. Eastman completed two 1-2-3 innings before Puget Sound cut into the Bruin advantage with an RBI single in the top of the fourth. Kiley Harris was sure to respond quickly, though, as the freshman launched her first career home run to bring the lead back to three, 4-1.

Eastman continued her dominance with another scoreless inning, and the Bruin offense ensured she would not have to throw another; the Fox bats exploded for five runs on six hits to end the game early via run rule. Kamryn Potter was the first Bruin to reach base, doing so on a Logger error. From that moment, the offense took control.

Sydney Sandifer reached on a single, before Tomei brought home all three with a home run to right center field. Tinley Taylor, Nicole Campa, Aliya Harmon, and Harris all recorded hits over the next five batters, with Harris' RBI double ending the game prematurely with a Bruin 9-1 victory.

How It Happened - Game Two
The Bruins started out slow in the first inning, giving the Loggers a 4-1 lead after five hits in the top of the first. Each team scored two runs in the second, with Aliya Harmon scoring on a Sydney Sandifer RBI walk and Makayla Noone scoring off of a Sharon Tomei sacrifice fly to make the score 6-3. In the third inning, Puget Sound scored another run followed shortly by Kiley Harris who singled to shortstop, and Nicole Campa scored a run making the total 7-3.

As the fourth inning came to an end, the Bruins scored another run, with Sydney Sandifer setting up the run by advancing to third on a wild pitch. Sharon Tomei flew out to right field on a sacrifice fly, bringing home Sandifer. After the fourth inning, the Bruins upgraded the score to 7-5, only down by two. 

Puget Sound found themselves struggling to keep their winning place as George Fox crept up behind them in the fifth inning. Nicole Campa doubled early and eventually advanced to third base, while Sami Stadtlander singled to shortstop, then advanced to second. From there, Stadtlander and Campa scored two runs for the Bruins, nearly tying the score 8-7.

In a nail-biting frenzy, Madelyn Loughary scored in the sixth inning on an Aliya Harmon RBI single, tying the score. After trailing by as many as four, Fox was back in the game, 8-8, in preparation for the seventh and final inning of the game.

Unfortunately, George Fox had to bear a loss in the seventh inning as the Loggers scored on a late sac fly. The Bruins made their efforts to use the time left in order to tie the score, with a quick double from Noone setting up a potential score, but Fox was not able to bring her in in the bottom half of the inning, losing the game, 9-8.

Top Performances
Sharon Tomei finished the day with an otherworldly seven RBIs, while Kiley Harris smacked a team-high four hits. Makayla Noone totaled three hits in the second game of the doubleheader, while Nicole Campa scored three runs. Emma Eastman picked up the win in the first game of the day, throwing five strikeouts.

Coach's Thoughts
"We continue to fight, we've just got to put all the pieces together." said Bruin head coach Jessica Hollen, "This conference won't make it easy, so we've got to get back to work this week."

What It Means 
After the cloudy day on Sunday, the Bruins are now 9-7 (2-2 NWC), and the Loggers are now 6-10 (4-4 NWC). 

What Comes Next
The Bruins will continue conference play the upcoming week against Pacific Lutheran with two games on Friday, March 29. The first pitch is at 12 pm in Tacoma, Wash.