Clermont, Fla. - Willamette Softball won the opening two games of their trip to Florida and The Spring Games event, 11-1 over Union College and 5-1 over Oberlin College. The Bearcats got strong pitching performances from Lizzie Brasher and Kenna Davis and some timely base hits by Desirae Hatfield and Mia Rogers.
In the opening game, Willamette broke through first in the top of the third inning when Maris Pinheiro tripled with two outs and was able to score on a throwing error by the catcher. Union responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning and loaded the bases with only one out, but the Bearcats escaped with the score tied 1-1 after three.
The Bearcats broke the game open in the top of the fourth inning when Desirae Hatfield led off with a single and, after a flyout, three consecutive batters hit doubles to score the first three runs of the inning and make the score 4-1. After two walks, Willamette scored two more runs on errors by Union and led 6-1 after four innings of play.
Willamette loaded the bases in the fifth and was unable to score, but put the game out of reach in the sixth as they scored another five runs. They loaded the bases again and this time Maggie Fleischmann singled through the middle to score two runs and Lauren Stube followed with a single for another run. The final run of the inning scored on a Maggie Sawyer sacrifice fly to make the final score 11-1.
Brasher pitched all six innings for the Bearcats, giving up only three hits and the lone run while striking out four. Rogers and Stube led Willamette with two hits. Rogers and Hatfield each scored twice, while Stube and Fleischmann each batted in two.
The Bearcats struck quickly in their second game of the day against Oberlin and loaded the bases for the third straight inning across the two games. This time they scored one run as Emma Elliott came home on a wild pitch to give Willamette a 1-0 lead.
Davis got off to a hot start on the mound by striking out four of the first five batters she faced, but Oberlin was able to get on the scoreboard in the fourth inning on a leadoff single, sacrifice bunt, stolen base, and one more single helped tie the game 1-1.
The Bearcats hadn't threatened again since the opening inning, but in the fifth Maris Pinheiro walked to lead off the inning, advanced to third on a single by Hatfield, and both runners scored on another single by Rogers to give Willamette a 3-1 advantage. The Bearcats scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth as Karsen Angel came home on a wild pitch and Pinheiro scored on a Hatfield double for the final runs in the Bearcats' 5-1 victory.
Davis registered ten strikeouts over seven innings, only allowing two hits and one run, to push her record to 5-2 on the season. Hatfield led the Bearcats with three hits, including the RBI double in the sixth inning.
The Bearcats return to action on Tuesday, March 25th, when they play Lawrence University and Luther College. They have Wednesday off and finish up their road trip with games against Colby College and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
