GAME ONE BOX GAME TWO BOX
NEWBERG, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University softball team was swept Saturday at George Fox University, 6-4 and 5-0.
Getting strong pitching performances from freshmen right-handers Erin Hento and Allyssa DenDekker, the George Fox University Bruins swept their softball home-opening doubleheader from the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers 6-4 and 5-0 Saturday afternoon here at Morse Field.
Erin Hento (2-0) went the threw a complete game in Game 1, allowing seven hits while striking out nine and walking only one. She did not allow a Mountaineer hit until the fourth inning. Hento finished with two earned runs.
The Bruins (5-3) jumped ahead with four runs in the third inning off EOU’s Suzie Espinoza (0-1), who allowed 11 hits in all while walking one and striking out one. Kris Trindle started the rally with a one-out double and scored on Nicole Renteria’s single up the middle. Bethany Chriss hit a two-out double to drive in Renteria, and after a dropped foul fly ball kept the inning alive, Becka Doyle doubled in Chriss, and Kayla Ward singled in Doyle.
The Bruins added two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kerrianne Davidson doubled and scored on a shot to left field by Chriss.
Eastern got one run in the sixth inning on consecutive one-out singles by Emily Anderson, Wailana Buchanan, and Sarah Jackson, but Hento escaped further damage when Ashli Hughes’ sharp grounder to short was turned into an unassisted double play by Chriss, who tagged Buchanan as she started for third and then touched second to force Jackson.
The Mountaineers got three runs in the top of the seventh, the first scoring on an error at second, another on a double steal of home by Danyel Craycraft, and the last as Anderson singled in McKenzie Desin, but Hento got Buchanan, representing the tying run, to foul out to Davidson at first to end the game.
Doyle was 3 for 3 while Trindle and Chriss had two hits each for the Bruins, Chriss driving in three runs. Anderson and Jackson had two hits apiece for the Mountaineers.
In the second game, DenDekker (1-3) got her first college win with a one-hit shutout, a line single to center by Buchanan in the second inning. She struck out four and walked one. Jessy Reynolds (0-1) gave up six hits for the Mountaineers with three walks, allowing only one earned run due to two costly errors.
George Fox got on the board in the bottom of the first as Trindle walked, stole second, was sacrificed to third, and scored on Davidson’s single down the left-field line. In the fourth inning, Davidson and Chriss drew lead-off walks, and Davidson scored on an error at short, but Chriss was thrown out trying to reach third. After a pop out, Shelby Briske and Hilary Broadus hit back-to-back run-scoring doubles. The Bruins added their final run in the fifth inning when Davidson scored on a two-out dropped ball in right field
Eastern (0-3) will play again at George Fox Sunday in a doubleheader. The games were moved up to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather.