NCC Advances in Patten Tournament
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- The Northwest Christian College softball team dropped a pair of games to open up the 2008 season on Friday, but came back with an 8-3 victory over George Fox on Saturday to head into the Patten College tournament bracket at 1-2.
The season got off on a sour note offensively, with the top five batters combining for just two hits during the first two games of pool play at the Patten tourney. The Beacons lost the opener to Bethany College, 3-2 in eight innings, despite a 10 strikeout performance from Darci Byrne, making her first start in two years. The Beacons jumped out to a 2-0 lead with runs in the second and fifth innings, but Bethany stormed back with runs in the sixth and seventh innings, forcing the extra inning. Bethany went on to claim the victory in the eighth.
Second verse, same as the first. In Friday’s second game, NCC got 10 strikeouts from Megan McLearn, but once again fell in the final inning, dropping a 2-1 decision to host Patten. Patten jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth, but NCC tied the game in the top of the seventh on an RBI groundout by Byrne that scored McLearn. Lissa Hatefi (pictured) batted 2-for-3 for the Beacons, who managed just four hits in the game and seven combined on the day.
It took until the third game, but the bats woke up on Saturday in the 8-3 win over George Fox. NCC got on the board in the first inning as Tanya Johnston came home on a passed ball. Three more runs came across in the second inning on RBI singles from Cotie Howard and Brittany Robles and another four runs were scored in the bottom of the fifth for an 8-1 lead. The Bruins added a pair of runs in the sixth inning, but that would be all they could muster before the game was called due to the tournaments time-restriction rule.
Hatefi got her season off on the right foot, batting 5-for-9 with two runs and two RBI. Howard went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the victory over GFU. Byrne received credit for the victory against George Fox, striking out three batters in 3 innings of work.
Northwest Christian advances to the tournament bracket on Monday, where they will face Cascade Conference member College of Idaho, ranked #14 in the NAIA pre-season national coaches poll. The Coyotes are also 1-2 after starting their tournament with a pair of Friday losses. The first pitch is scheduled for 10:30 Monday morning with the winner facing the winner of the quarterfinal meeting between George Fox and Corban College.