EUGENE, Ore. – Freshman pitcher Becca Lillegard picked up her first collegiate victory on Saturday as the Northwest Christian University softball team took the second game of a Cascade Collegiate Conference double-header with Southern Oregon, 4-1. It was the first CCC win of the season for the Beacons.
Lillegard (1-3) got the start and allowed just one earned run on five hits through 5.1 innings of work to pick up the victory. Jenna Royce threw the final1.2 innings for NCU and did not surrender a hit as she picked up her school-record fourth save of the season.
Southern Oregon took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and it wasn’t until the fifth that NCU would take the lead. Brittany Robles opened the inning with a walk and was substituted for pinch-runner Karli Vath. After a groundout moved Vath to second, Megan Mazanec hit an RBI single to put NCU on the board. Later in the inning, Lillegard helped her own cause with an RBI single to right, scoring Mazanec for what would amount to a game-winner.
The Beacons put up a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Lissa Hatefi led off the inning with a double and came home on an RBI single by Cassie Bishop. Bishop then scored on an RBI single by Robles.
Earlier in the day NCU dropped game one of the double-header, 6-2. The Beacons scored their two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but slowly saw the lead evaporate with two in the third and four runs in the seventh inning for the Raiders. Brooke Davis (5-10) allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits over six innings of work, while striking out three batters. Royce pitched the final three outs for Northwest Christian and allowed just one hit after relieving Davis during the seventh inning.
In the game, Bishop went 3-for-3, setting a new single-game record for the Beacons with three doubles. She finished the day batting 5-for-7 with two runs and a pair of RBI.
Southern Oregon (8-14, 4-4 CCC) picked up their fourth CCC split of the season. The Raiders had a strong day from Meghan Laughlin, batting 4-for-6 with three RBI while Kathryn Moy batted 3-for-7 with two runs and two RBI. Karri Johnson (4-4) went the distance in the circle for SOU in both games. She allowed two unearned runs on five hits in the game-one victory and gave up four earned runs on seven hits in game two. Overall, the junior struck out nine batters in 13 innings of work.
Northwest Christian (11-17, 1-5) will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, traveling to face the Oregon Tech Owls at 1:00 pm.