Concordia freshman Kate Santos had the game-tying RBI in the second game Friday, while going 2-for-4 from the plate with two runs scored and three runs batted in.
Cavs Sweep EOU Behind Pair of Walk-Off Wins
BOX SCORES : GAME 1 - GAME 2
PORTLAND, Ore.—Shaking off a pesky Eastern Oregon club, the Concordia softball team swept the teams’ doubleheader on Friday with a pair of walk-off wins.
Concordia won the first game 5-4 on a walk-off double from Sam Genskay in the ninth, then took the second game 7-6 behind a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh. Jordyn Brown provided the heroics in that one, sending a single up the middle that scored Kate Santos.
With the wins, Concordia improved to 18-16 overall and 9-5 in the CCC, while Eastern Oregon dropped to 9-17 overall and 5-13 in the CCC. At 9-5, Concordia maintained its hold on second place in the CCC, one game ahead of Corban and No. 21 College of Idaho.
Concordia will host College of Idaho for a pivotal doubleheader tomorrow, April 14 at 11 a.m. EOU, meanwhile, also plays tomorrow at 11 a.m., as they travel to Northwest Christian for a doubleheader.
GAME 1—CONCORDIA 5, EASTERN OREGON 4
Concordia never trailed in the first game Friday, but had to fight off a comeback-minded Eastern Oregon team in order to get the win.
The Cavs twice took the lead in the game, only to have Eastern Oregon immediately match their scores in the subsequent half inning.
EOU’s comebacks pushed the game into extra innings at 4-4, but the Cavs found the winning rally before the Mountaineers.
The rally came in the ninth for the Cavs despite two quick outs that put them in an early hole. Jennifer Lutton and Allison Gunter started the rally, hitting back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second for leadoff-hitter Sam Genskay. Genskay was already 3-for-5 in the game at that point and sent a pitch to left-center field that easily scored Lutton for the game-winner.
Genskay’s finisher was fitting too, as the senior also opened the scoring for the Cavs in the bottom of the second. Like the ninth, Lutton and Gunter hit back-to-back singles to start the rally, while Genskay hit a double to right-center to score Lutton. That put runners on second and third with one out for Tobey Varney, who came through with a single to center that scored both Gunter and Genskay.
Concordia went up 3-0 with that rally, but EOU came right back with three runs in the top of the third. A walk and single with one out got EOU started, before Cassie Wendt plated two runs with a double to left. Wendt moved to third on a ground-out after that, then came home on a wild pitch to even the game at 3-3.
Neither team scored for a while after that, until Concordia pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth. Varney walked to start the sixth for the Cavs, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from catcher Kyndell Andrews. EOU got the next Cavalier out, but Kate Santos followed with a two-out double to center that scored Varney.
Concordia stood just three outs from victory after that, but EOU evened the game again with a run in the seventh. Suzie Espinoza led off the seventh for EOU with a single up the middle. Hanna Findley pinch ran for Espinoza from there, and moved to second on a wild pitch, then to third on a ground out. Georgianna Kelly laid down a nice bunt after that that allowed Findley to score, while putting her on first. Kelly would move to third with two outs on another single in the inning for EOU, but CU pitcher Ashley Suter induced an inning-ending ground out to hold the Mountaineers to a single run in the seventh.
Overall, Concordia had no trouble recording hits in the game, besting the Mountaineers 18-9. The Cavs left the bases loaded without scoring a run three different times in the game, however, as the team left 15 total runners on base.
Individually, Genskay finished 4-for-6 for the Cavs with two runs batted in and a run scored, while Lutton and Gunter each went 4-for-5.
For EOU, Kelly and Sarah Jackson each went 2-for-4, while Kelly also scored a run and recorded an RBI.
Suter, meanwhile, picked up the win for the Cavs, pitching all nine innings while striking out 10. On the flip side, Kayla Anderson received the loss for EOU after pitching all 8.2 innings for her team.
GAME 2—CONCORDIA 7, EASTERN OREGON 6
Unlike the first game, Concordia twice had to come back in the second game, with the second comeback giving the Cavs their second walk-off win of the day.
Concordia started the comeback down 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh, three outs away from a loss. However, Tobey Varney led off the inning with a single to left, then came all the way around on a one-out double to left from Kate Santos. That leveled the game at 6-6, but the Cavs weren’t done. EOU intentionally walked Laura Luther with first base available after that, bringing starting pitcher Jordyn Brown to the plate with one out. Brown had gone 0-for-3 to that point in the game, but came through when it counted, sending a single up the middle that scored Santos from second for the game-winning run.
The rally capped a back-and-forth final four innings that saw the lead change hands four times. Concordia had led 2-0 since the first, but EOU evened the game with two runs in the fourth, then went up 4-2 with two runs in the fifth.
Concordia responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, however, going up 5-4 heading into the sixth. The Cavs loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth, before Santos plated the first run of the inning with a single up the middle. EOU got the next CU batter to strike out after that, while Brown followed with an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Finally, Mary Lugar continued the rally with a single that scored Santos just before the Mountaineers got Brown out on the base path to end the inning.
Still, EOU proved as resilient as ever despite the deficit, scoring a run in the sixth to level the game at 5-5. Mariebeth Watanabe delivered the run in the sixth for EOU, sending a single to center that scored Lacey Price.
EOU retired the Cavs in order in the bottom of the sixth, before going up 6-5 with a run in the top of the seventh. EOU still had the bases loaded with only out after scoring in the seventh, but a foul out and a strike out kept the game at 6-5.
Overall, Concordia outhit the Cavs 12-9, but had multiple errors come back to bite them in the late innings.
Individually, Varney went 3-for-4 for the Cavs with three runs scored. Besides her, Genskay and Santos each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the game, while Santos also recorded three runs batted in. In addition, Lugar went 2-for-3 for the Cavs with an RBI.
For EOU, Emily Anderson, Cassie Wendt and Alex Hillmick all went 2-for-4 in the game.
Brown, meanwhile, received the win after throwing a complete game for the Cavs, giving up six runs, though only two were earned. On the flip side, Hillmick went all 6.1 innings for EOU, but received the loss.