SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University completed a perfect eight-games-in-five-days stretch with two more victories, gaining a series sweep of visiting Pacific University on Wednesday afternoon.
The Pirates pulled out a 6-5 win in Wednesday's first game and won the finale 11-4 to improve to 19-9 overall and 9-7 in the Northwest Conference. With back-to-back four-game sweeps of Puget Sound and Pacific, Whitworth has moved from last place to fourth place in the NWC standings. The Bucs are off until April 2-3 when they host Willamette University.
The Boxers dropped to 6-18 overall and 5-11 in the NWC. They will try to bounce back this weekend at home against Whittier College.
Game 1- Whitworth 6, Pacific 5
Rylee Gentner went 2-4 with a home run and Corinne Vasiloff settled down from a rough start to shut out the Boxers over the final three innings.
Whitworth scored first after Haley Montoya led off with a triple and scored on Julia Dillon's single.
Pacific grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second. After a leadoff walk, MiKaila Nielson tripled to right field to tie the game. Nielson scored on a fielding error by Vasiloff.
Gentner drilled a three-run home run to left in the bottom of the second, her fifth homer of the season, to stake the Pirates to a 4-2 lead after two frames. However, the Boxers answered right back, tying the game in the third on RBI singles by Sydney Rusin and Nielson.
Mattea Nelson's sacrifice fly in the third put the Pirates back up 5-4, but Pacific tied the game in the top of the fourth on Ashley Gamble's first home run of the season.
Whitworth scored the winning run in the bottom of the fourth after two were out. Gentner reached on an error, stole second and scored on Dillon's double.
At that point both pitchers settled in and did not allow another run over the last three innings. Vasiloff got out of a two-on, out-out jam in the sixth when the Pirates turned a 4-6-3 double play. She retired the side in order in the seventh.
Vasiloff (10-8) allowed five runs on 10 hits in seven innings with four strikeouts and a walk.
Rylee Patton (3-3) tossed all six innings for Pacific and allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits with three strikeouts.
Montoya, Gentner, Dillon and Heather Menzer all had two hits apiece for the Pirates.
Game 2 – Whitworth 11, Pacific 4
Trailing 4-1 in the third, the Pirates put up seven runs in their biggest inning of the series.
Whitworth took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single from Maddy Thomas.
Pacific scored all four of its runs in the third, the Boxers' biggest inning of the series. Rusin had a two-run double and later scored on Gamble's double to right field.
Trailing 4-1, the Pirates scored all seven in the bottom of the third after two were out. Jazz Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk for the first run. Nelson followed with a two-run single and Momi Lyman's double drove in two more. Kelly Hruza and Montoya each added RBI doubles later in the inning.
Whitworth scored three more times in the fifth and had a chance to end the game at that point. Dillon singled home a run and Thomas added a two-run single. The Bucs had runners on first and second with one out when Pacific turned a double play after Johnson when out to second base.
Lyman (9-1) won her eighth straight decision after allowing four runs on seven hits in seven innings. She struck out four and walked two.
Rusin (2-4) started for Pacific and gave up seven runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings. Lindsey Greenfield and Carli Zanassi finished up.
