PORTLAND, Ore. – Needing two wins in the series to stay alive in the conference postseason race, the George Fox softball team got halfway there with a first game win over Lewis & Clark, 6-5, but lost the second game, 1-8.

How It Happened – Game One
The Bruins started out with a 2-0 lead when Makayla Noone scored on a Sharon Tomei single before Tinley Taylor drove home Sydney Sandifer on an RBI groundout. However, Lewis & Clark caught up with them in the bottom half of the first inning, scoring two runs on back to back RBI singles.

The scoring continued in the second inning, when Tomei singled again — this time scoring Sami Stadtlander — with Noone following shortly after with a passed ball, leading Fox up 4-2 in the second inning. 

After a scoreless third, Sandifer homered to left center to score Kamryn Potter and give Fox another two on the scoreboard. The score stayed at 6-2 for a while until Lewis & Clark slowly attempted to catch up in the bottom of the fifth inning with one run. 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Pios crept closer with two more runs, putting the tying run on first with two out. Aliya Harmon stepped in to save the day for Fox, giving the Bruins a much-needed win with a spectacular diving save on a grounder before pitching the ball from the ground to Potter on second base for the force out and 6-5 win.

How It Happened – Game Two 
The first two innings were scoreless until the bottom of the second when Lewis & Clark shelled out nearly all their runs, leaving Fox in the dust and down 7-0. The Bruins tried to stay within shouting distance in the top of the fourth inning when Tinley Taylor scored on a fielder's choice to give Fox their first run of the game. 

That run would be the only run of the game as the Pios scored their last run in the bottom of the sixth on a sac fly. The Bruins went down 1-2-3 to drop the game, 1-8.

Top Performances
Sydney Sandifer had one home run, one run, and two RBIs in the first game, while Makayla Noone had two runs in game one with Kamryn Potter and Sami Stadtlander had one each. Tinley Taylor had the only run of the second game, with Stadtlander picking up the RBI. Elise Wilkinson picked up the win on the mound in game one.

What It Means
The Bruins are fifth in the conference with a mark of 19-19 (12-14 NWC), while Lewis & Clark is second and improves to 24-14 (18-8 NWC). 

What Comes Next
The George Fox Bruins will end their doubleheader series against Lewis & Clark at home for Senior Day on Sunday, May 5th. The first game starts at 11:00 a.m. and the second game will begin at 1:00 p.m., this time in Newberg, Ore.