CLERMONT, Fla. — After their two losses the day before, the George Fox softball team was ready to end The Spring Games with some wins. After a nailbiting 5-4 victory over No. 21 ranked DePauw, the Lady Bruins continued their dominant offense into their second game where they had a blowout 11-2 win against Augustana (Ill.) in six innings. 

How It Happened - DePauw
The game got off to a slow offensive start as both teams were playing lockdown defense; for Fox, pitcher Nicole Ledendecker was dominating in the circle alongside GFU's defense. In a critical moment in the second inning with a Tiger runner in scoring position, the Bruins were able to turn a pop-up into a double play that got them out of the inning unscathed. It wasn't until the third that each teams' bats began to heat up; George Fox limited DePauw to only one run thanks to a crucial back pick at second. However, Fox wasn't going to allow the Tigers to hold the lead for long. Lead-off hitter Makayla Noone started things off with a hit that caused chaos on the field and landed her on second. After Kiley Harris was hit, Tinley Taylor hit a shot to center field for a single that was also able to score Noone without any problems to tie the game, 1-1. 

The fourth began with a one-two-three inning from GFU and it didn't take them long to get their bats going once again. Sami Stadtlander started off the bottom of fourth with a walk after practicing good discipline at the plate; she wasn't there long however, and after a Mia Cantu SAC bunt, Stadtlander was in scoring position at second. All it took was a hard-hit single to the right side from Noone to send Stadtlander across home plate and give Fox their first advantage of the game, 2-1. Despite their lead, George Fox was far from finished on the offensive end. In the bottom of the fifth, Harris recorded a single off of a 3-2 count before she was able to score after Taylor doubled to right center, 3-1. 

The Tigers remained unfazed and in the sixth, they were able to take the lead once more thanks to a few well-placed hits in the gaps, 4-3. While Fox was able to shut DePauw in the top of the seventh, it all came down to the bottom of the seventh for GFU to make their comeback. Corine Doran began the rally with a solid single to center before Cami Nakamura came in to pinch run. Next in the box was Harris and she was sure to make the most of the opportunity, with a driving swing, she sent the ball down the infield line for a double that put both her and Nakamura — now at third — in scoring position. All it took was a sac fly from Taylor that allowed Nakamura to score and tie the game, while also putting Harris at third for the winning run. Once again, the sac fly was all the Lady Bruins needed; Kayla Mashino sent the ball far out enough to send Harris sliding into home to win the game, 5-4. 

How It Happened - Augustana (Ill.)
Unlike the first game, George Fox's bats were hot from the start. Noone began the game with a walk before she advanced to second after Doran was hit by a pitch; it didn't take long before the Vikings made an error that allowed Noone to cross home plate without any problems, and Doran to move into scoring position at second. Recording the first hit of the game was Taylor with a powerful double that also brought in Doran to score. Next up was Morgan Palmer and with a strong hit to the right side, she singled and helped Taylor advance to third. After a Palmer steal and an Emery Curtis walk, Mia Cantu stepped into the box with bases loaded; while unfortunately Cantu was hit by a pitch, it did allow Taylor to rack up another run to give the Lady Bruins an early 3-0 lead. 

After a quick defensive bottom of the first with Riley Pirkle in the circle, George Fox was soon putting the ball in motion in the second. This time around, Doran started things off with a shot to the right side for a double before a Taylor single allowed Doran to come home, 4-0. Fox continued to widen the gap in the score bit by bit in each of the innings. In the third — after Palmer was hit — a barrelled hit from Stadtlander helped Palmer touch home plate without any problems, 5-0. 

In the fifth, Curtis was the first to put the ball in play with a single to the left side; Cantu followed not long after with another single that put Curtis in scoring position at second. Continuing the base hit train was Pirkle who — after smacking the ball for a single — brought Curtis sliding into home plate and moving Cantu to third. With a runner in scoring position, a Doran SAC fly was all it took to help Cantu cross home plate and make the total a dominant 7-0. 

Augustana was able to get one back in the fifth, but thanks to GFU's wall of defense, their rally didn't last long. The top of the sixth started off with two walks with one from Hailei Barney and the other from Stadtlander; next up was Curtis who doubled to left side which allowed Barney to slide in safely at home while also moving Stadtlander to third. Scarlett Olivas recorded her first hit of the day and joined the bandwagon with a double to left field that scored Stadtlander and advanced Curtis to third as well. After an Allison Heater walk, a passed ball allowed the runners to advance while also bringing Curtis to home; another passed ball later on also allowed Olivas to slide into home plate, 11-1. While the Vikings were able to get one back, they were unable to reproduce it, leading to a Lady Bruin blowout 11-2 victory in only six innings. 

Top Performances
In the first game, Kiley Harris and Tinley Taylor led the team in hits with two apiece, while Taylor also recorded the most RBI's with three. Kayla Mashino had one RBI as well which was thanks to her game winning SAC fly. Defensively, Alison Heater was awarded the win, making her record now 2-3. In their second game, Fox continued their dominant offense; this time around, three players had two hits each: Corine Doran, Emily Curtis, and Taylor. In total, the team recorded five doubles; along with hits, Curtis and Taylor also had two RBI's each. For pitching, Riley Pirkle was awarded the win which now makes her record 2-4. 

What It Means
The Lady Bruins rise to 8-8 (2-2 NWC), while No. 21 DePauw falls to 8-4 and Augustana is now 1-3. 

What Happens Next
Fox will travel back to Oregon to continue their conference play, this time against Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. The four game series will start with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 28; the first game is set to begin at 12:00 pm, while the second will be at 2:00 pm.