SPOKANE, Wash. – Maddy Thomas drove in six runs to lead Whitworth to a sweep of visiting Pacific University in a Northwest Conference softball doubleheader on Tuesday at Diana Marks Field.
The Pirates (17-9 overall, 7-7 NWC) won the opener 8-0 and the second game 11-3, both in five innings, to stretch their winning streak to six games. The games are make ups from March 6th. The teams will complete the series with a second doubleheader on Wednesday.
The teams came into the day tied for fourth place in the NWC standings. The visiting Boxers dropped to 6-16, 5-9.
Game 1 – Whitworth 8, Pacific 0 (5 innings)
Rylee Genter and Mattea Nelson each hit a home run to back the one-hit pitching of Corinne Vasiloff to lift the Pirates to victory in the series opener.
Gentner singled with two outs and the bases loaded to drive in the game's first run in the bottom of the second inning.
After a leadoff walk in the bottom of the third, Whitworth strung together four straight hits to score three runs. Heather Menzer had a run-scoring triple, while Jazz Johnson and Nelson each had RBI singles.
Gentner led off the fourth with a home run and Thomas followed with an RBI double. The Pirates ended the game with two more in the bottom of the fifth. Nelson led off with a home run. Whitworth then loaded the bases with one out and Delayna Waite scored from third on a sacrifice fly to right by Thomas.
Vasiloff gave up a single in the second inning and nothing else to improve to 9-8 with her third straight victory. She did have to work around three walks and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second.
Lindsey Greenfield (1-4) went the distance for Pacific, allowing eight runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings. She struck out two batters.
Game 2 – Whitworth 11, Pacific 3 (5 innings)
The top half of the Pirates' lineup went 10 for 14 at the plate to lead the offense, while Momi Lyman won her eighth game in the circle.
Boxer starting pitcher Sydney Rusin drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the top of the first inning. Pacific loaded the bases with one out against Lyman, but she got out of a big inning by allowing only a sacrifice fly for the second run.
The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the first on an RBI single from Menzer and a run-producing error. Thomas added a two-run double in the second to give Whitworth a 4-2 lead.
Samantha Petit walked to lead off the third and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the top of the third to get the Boxers within a run.
The Pirates broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth by scoring four runs. Menzer lofted a sacrifice fly to left field with the bases loaded and no one out to drive in the first run. After reloading the bases, Nelson cleared them with a three-run double to give the Bucs and 8-3 lead.
Whitworth loaded the bases with no one out in the fifth. Thomas drilled a double to the right field corner to score two. Menzer followed with a drive over the left fielder to score the game-ending run.
Gentner went 3-3 with four runs scored, while Thomas was 2 for 2 with four RBIs. Menzer went 2-2 with three RBIs and Nelson (1 for 3) finished with three RBIs.
Thomas now leads the NWC with 34 RBIs.
Lyman (8-1) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings. She walked four and struck out one.
Rusin (2-3) gave up nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and five walks in 4+ innings. Kaleigh Bauerle faced the final four Pirate batters.
