By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Mia Lund (So., OF, Omaha, NE/Westside HS) hit a triple and also made a diving catch in the outfield during the first game of Willamette University's doubleheader against George Fox University on Saturday, April 6. The Bruins won the first game 7-3. In the second game, GFU won 4-1 while holding Willamette to four hits.
The Bruins improved to 26-10 on the season, 18-6 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette dropped to 8-26 overall, 5-19 in the NWC.
Lund was 2 of 3 with a run scored for the Bearcats in the opener. Also earning two hits for Willamette in the first game were Marykate DeLuca (Jr., C, San Diego, CA/San Diego International Studies) and Sophia Lucio (So., RF, Martinez, CA/College Park. Lucio was 2 of 2 with a walk and a run. DeLuca went 2 of 4 and earned an RBI.
Cassie Cosler (Sr., 1B, Albany, OR/West Albany HS), Kelsey Wong (Sr., UT, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), and Brianna Majors (Jr., SS/2B, San Diego, CA/Cathedral Catholic HS) each contributed a double in the first game. In the second game, Cora Erickson (So., C, Issaquah, WA/Issaquah HS) went 2 of 3 with an RBI for Willamette.
Sydney Sandifer led George Fox during the doubleheader. She was 2 of 4 with a home run in the first game, and then went 3 for 3 in the second game with a double, a home run, and four RBIs. Kimberly Pulido and Jennifer McCue each hit a home run in the first game for the Bruins.
Bearcats Earn Four Extra-Base Hits in Opener
Willamette players combined for a total of four extra-base hits in the first game as the Bearcats outhit the Bruins, 9-8. George Fox hit three home runs, all in the seventh inning, as the Bruins pulled away from a 3-1 lead on their way to a 7-3 win.
Claire Fountain, the second batter of the game, walked and eventually scored for GFU on a single by Pulido. The Bruins added a run in the second inning when Emma Classen tripled to start the frame and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Kamryn Potter. WU answered with a run in the bottom of the second, as Lund singled up the middle with one out, stole second, and scored on a two-out double by Wong. In the top of the third, the Bruins plated an unearned run as two errors helped Pulido reach base and later cross the plate two batters later.
Lund provided Willamette with a diving catch in center field in the fifth inning, as she kept Brooke Riggins from earning a hit. Lund then threw to Cosler at first base to complete a double play, as pinch-runner Maclairen Magruder attempted to tag up.
The score remained 3-1 until the top of the seventh. With one out, Sharon Tomei went to first on a dropped fly ball in the outfield. Chloe White pinch-ran and scored when Sandifer followed with a home run to left field. Pulido and McCue also hit homers to left.
Willamette plated two runs in the bottom of the inning. Lucio singled with one out and Majors tacked on a double through the right side. After Jewel Fleckenstein (Jr., UT, Wasilla, AK/Mat-Su Middle College School) was hit by a pitch, Carrie Dose (So., 1B/P, Eugene, OR/Churchill HS/Buena Vista Univ.) provided a sacrifice fly to left field and DeLuca added an RBI single to right center. DeLuca was thrown out at second base at the end of the play.
Erickson Registers Two Hits for WU in Game Two
Erickson led Willamette in the second game by going 2 for 3. Sandifer of GFU topped the Bruins with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. The Bruins won the game 4-1, as pitcher Elise Wilkinson held the Bearcats to four hits.
The Bruins grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the first inning. Fountain walked with one out and Sandifer belted a two-run homer to center field with two outs. GFU increased its lead to 3-0 in the third inning when Fountain singled with one out and Sandifer pounded an RBI double with two outs.
In the fourth, Willamette cut the margin to 3-1. Dose and Gianna Marchese (Sr., 3B, Seattle, WA/Bishop Blanchet HS/St. Martin's Univ.) hit back-to-back singles with one out. Dose scored when Erickson added a single up the middle.
Sandifer hit an RBI single for George Fox in the top of the fifth. She hit for three-fourths of the cycle, missing only a triple. McCue was 2 of 4 for the Bruins, who claimed a 7-4 edge in hits.
Up Next for Willamette
The Bearcats will host Lewis & Clark College in a Northwest Conference doubleheader at the WU Softball Field on Friday, April 15. It will be Senior Day for the Bearcats, with first pitch set for 2:30 p.m. (PDT). The Bearcats and the Pioneers will play a doubleheader at L&C on Saturday, April 16, starting at 11 a.m.
