Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SPOKANE, Wash. – Myranda Ramirez drove in five runs and Makayla Lefever earned two pitching victories to lead Whitworth University to a softball doubleheader sweep of visiting Pacific Lutheran on Sunday afternoon at Diana Marks Field. The Pirates won both games by scoring the winning runs in their final at-bat, taking the opener 4-3 and the nightcap 9-8.
Whitworth swept the four-game series from the Lutes to improve to 26-9 overall and 18-6 in the Northwest Conference, clinching a spot in the upcoming NWC tournament in the process. The Bucs hold a two-game lead in the conference standings over Linfield (16-8) with one series to play. Whitworth hosts the Wildcats in a first-place showdown next weekend.
By losing all four contests, three in the final inning, PLU dropped to 19-15, 11-13 and saw its hopes for earning a spot in the 2016 NWC tournament take a serious blow.
Game 1 – Whitworth 4, PLU 3
Ramirez drilled a two-run single with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive in the tying and winning runs for the Pirates in Sunday's opener.
Lefever went the distance in the circle for Whitworth, allowing three runs on nine hits and a walk. She struck out two batters and earned her 15th victory of the season with her 14th complete-game.
Alyssa Hall created Whitworth's first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. She walked, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on Chelsey Hayes' sacrifice fly.
PLU's Amanda Hartley opened the second inning with a single and eventually came around to score on a ground out by Jessica Wallace, tying the game 1-1.
Desi Graham gave Whitworth back the lead in the fourth with an RBI single that drove in Shannon Wessel.
But the Lutes went back in front when Nichole Schroeder drilled her sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field, in the top of the fifth.
PLU starting pitcher Marissa Miller held that lead through the fifth and sixth innings. But Whitworth rallied in the seventh, just as in Saturday's second game. With one out Tessa Matthews singled off of Miller and Megan John singled to left field. Hall worked a walk to load the bases for Ramirez. Ramirez drove the first pitch she saw to center field, scoring Matthews and John for the game-winning runs.
Ramirez finished 2-4 with two RBIs, while Kelsey Downey also had two hits for the Bucs.
Miller dropped to 8-7 after allowing four runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings.
Game 2 – Whitworth 9, PLU 8
The Lutes scored eight straight runs to rally from a 6-0 deficit, but the Pirates got three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull out the sweep-clinching win.
Wessel went 3-4 at the plate for Whitworth, including her third home run of the season, while Graham went 3-3 to finish the weekend 7-10 for the Bucs.
Whitworth scored five runs in the second inning off of PLU starter Elli Rassbach. The big blow was a bases-loaded triple by Ramirez. Then Wessel drilled her home run in the third inning to give the Pirates a 6-0 lead, chasing Rassbach from the game.
But PLU would not go away, scoring five runs of their own off of Whitworth starting pitcher Madi Perez in the fourth inning. Kelli Crawford drove in three of those runs with a bases-loaded double. Annalise Campbell and Becca Sorensen added RBI doubles, forcing Perez from the game.
Whitworth coach Cristal Brown went with Lefever in relief, despite the fact that she had thrown 104 pitches in the opener.
PLU took the lead in the top of the sixth inning. An error and a hit batter put two runners on base for PLU's Kathryn Hatlen, who had moved from first base to pitcher in relief of Rassbach. Hatlen hammered her seventh home run of the year to left field, giving the Lutes an 8-6 lead.
Whitworth scored the three game-winning runs in the sixth with two outs. John singled to open the frame and moved to second on Hall's sacrifice. Ramirez flew out to left field before Hayes walked. PLU attempted to get John out at third base on Downey's ground ball to shortstop, but the throw was late. Wessel then drove in John with an infield single. Unfortunately for PLU, the throw to try to get Wessel at first base was mishandled, allowing both Hayes and Downey to score, giving Whitworth the lead.
Lefever, who finished the day with 176 total pitches, finished off the game in the seventh. Pinch hitter Thalen Masada was able to reach base on an error with two outs, but Masada was thrown out attempting to steal second to end the game.
Lefever allowed three runs, but none were earned, on two hits in 3.2 innings of relief to improve to 16-3 this season.
Miller, who appeared in relief for PLU in the seventh inning, suffered her second loss of the day.
