TACOMA, Wash. – The George Fox softball team traveled north to take on NWC rival Pacific Lutheran, winning the first game of the double-header 6-2, and then dropping the high-scoring second game, 16-14. 

How It Happened – Game One
Both teams were held scoreless through the first three innings, as Bruins' starter Emma Eastman was able to strand a baserunner each inning. GFU managed to break the scoreless tie in the fourth inning, scoring two runs after first-baseman Sharon Tomei hit an opposite-field, two-run home run to put the Bruins up, 2-0. 

Fox added two more runs an inning later after Aliya Harmon hit a single that scored a run, then Sami Stadtlander scored on an errored throw by the Lutes after stealing third. The Bruins went into the bottom of the fifth up four over PLU. The Lutes would get two runs back in the bottom half, using back-to-back homers to make the score 4-2 going into the top of the sixth. 

Both teams were scoreless in the sixth inning, setting up a crucial seventh inning. The Bruins were able to tack on two back-breaking insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning, scoring on a sacrifice fly from Makayla Noone, and a score from another error by the Lutes. Up 6-2 going into the last three outs of the game, Eastman finished the game off with a flyout and a pair of ground outs to wrap up the 6-2 win. 

How It Happened – Game Two
Where the offense was slow coming the first game, it was fast and constant in the second game of the day. There were a combined 31 hits in game two, including five home runs and seven doubles. 

The Lutes got on the board first, scoring two runs in the first off an RBI double and an RBI single that put Fox behind, 2-0. Two more runs an inning later saw Fox in a 4-0 hole after just two frames. The Bruins responded in a big way, scoring five runs in the top of the third – runs that included home runs from both Sydney Sandifer and Nicole Campa. The huge inning gave the Bruins a 5-4 edge going into the bottom of the third. The Lutes would tie the game in the bottom half, making the score 5-5 heading into the fourth. 

It seemed the Bruins had broken the game open in the top of the fourth, after starting with a home run from Harmon, the Bruins scored six runs in the inning, seeing RBIs from five different Bruins batters. Up 11-5, Fox went into the bottom of the fourth hoping to avoid a similar output from the Lutes, but the Lutes bats came up big in the fourth as well. PLU stormed back, scoring five runs of their own – four of which came from a momentum-stealing grand slam from senior Emma Ware. The inning ended with the Bruins still up, but only by a run, 11-10. 

Fox added three runs in the top of the fifth, scoring off a Kamryn Potter double and Sandifer homer, to extend the lead to four, 14-10. Disaster struck in the bottom half though for the Bruins, who could not get out of the inning, as they gave up six runs and left the fifth down 16-14. Neither team could register a hit in the sixth or top of the seventh, let alone a run, and the Bruins left game two with a stinging 16-14 loss.

Top Performances 
Emma Eastman turned in a solid outing from the circle in the first game, throwing a complete game with six strikeouts and two allowed runs. Makayla Noone had four hits on the day, and Sydney Sandifer had two home runs and four RBIs in the second game of the day. 

What It Means
The Bruins now sit at 10-8 (3-3 NWC) and the Lutes are 6-12 (1-5 NWC). 

What Comes Next
George Fox wraps up their four-game series with Pacific Lutheran on Saturday, March 30, with games at 11 and 1 in Tacoma, Wash.