CU's Kate Santos is hitting .500 (7 of 14) through her first four games at the Northwest Cup.
Cavs Improve to 10-0 with Wins over Pacific, UPS at Northwest Cup
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Pacific I Concordia vs. Puget Sound
CLACKAMAS, Ore.—The Concordia softball team swept Pacific and Puget Sound during the second day of the Northwest Cup on Saturday, continuing their hot start to the season as the Cavs now stand 10-0 on the year.
The Cavs opened action Saturday with an 8-3 win over Pacific then followed that up with a 7-1 victory over Puget Sound.
The Cavs will conclude action at the Northwest Cup tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 17, as they play British Columbia and Willamette at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
Game 1—Concordia 8, Pacific 3
The Cavs broke open a competitive game against Pacific with a seven-run fourth inning that gave them an 8-2 lead and put them in full control.
Pacific had just taken the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third, but the Cavs came right back with their biggest inning of the season so far. What’s more, the Cavs scored all their runs with two outs in the inning with Robin Gawlista providing the first run of the inning as she scored after a Pacific error allowed Taylor Copher to reach. The error also left the bases loaded for the Cavs, setting the stage for Mariah Jimenez, who cashed in with a double to left center that scored Jennifer Lutton and Kate Santos.
Laura Luther followed Jimenez’s hit with a walk, which loaded the bases again for the Cavs as Cassidy Horner stepped to the plate. From there, Horner delivered the biggest hit of the game for the Cavs as she smashed a grand slam that truly broke open the game, turning a two-run CU lead into a cozy 8-2 CU lead.
The Cavs loaded the bases again after Horner’s grand slam, too, but did not get another run across the plate in the inning.
The Boxers, meanwhile, did not get another hit in the game after the Cavs’ rally until Emmie Moser hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth that capped the scoring at 8-3.
Santos led the Cavs offensively, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the game. Horner also had a big game for the Cavs, totaling four runs batted in thanks to her grand slam, while also going 2-for-4 from the plate with a run scored.
At the same time, Ashley Suter recorded a dominant performance within the circle, pitching all seven innings for the Cavs while recording strikeouts for 15 of the 21 outs in the game. Suter struck out two batters or more in six of the seven innings against Pacific and now averages more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings.
Shannon Miller, Suter’s counterpart for Pacific, wound up with the loss after pitching the first five innings for the Boxers.
Game 2—Concordia 7, Puget Sound 1
The Cavs rolled to victory in their second game Saturday, scoring the last seven runs of the game after giving up their only run of the game in the top of the first.
Puget Sound took the early lead thanks to a ground-rule double from Amy Schmeckpeper that scored lead-off hitter Lisa Colombo.
The Cavs got the run the back right away, though, as Jennifer Lutton led off the bottom of the first with a double before immediately coming around when Kate Santos followed with a home run to center.
The Cavs then stretched their lead with two more runs in the bottom of the third, putting them up 4-1. Katie Aden delivered the first run of the inning, plating Taylor Copher on a sacrifice fly to left. Robin Gawlista then hit into a weird play where Puget Sound’s first baseman lost a throw from the shortstop in the sun, which allowed Laura Luther to score.
Luther came back with the lone RBI in the fourth inning as she plated Lutton with a two-out single to left.
The Cavs then added their final two runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth, capping the game’s scoring at 7-1. Aden led off the bottom of the fifth with a double before moving to third on a one-out infield single from Danielle Orvella. Aden then came home on the next play as Lutton sent a ground ball to third that Puget Sound tried to throw back home to get Aden. Aden got too good of a jump on the play, though, as she crossed the plate before the tag got her. Finally, Santos plated Orvella for the last run of the game with an RBI ground out to short.
Aden finished the game 3-for-3 from the plate for the Cavs, while adding an RBI and a run scored. Besides her, Lutton, Santos and Tobey Varney also finished with two hits each in the game.
In the circle, McKenzie Marshall pitched all seven innings for the Cavs to get the win. Marshall also finished with 10 strikeouts in the game, easily her highest strikeout total in any of her first three starts for the Cavs.
Megan Campbell, Marshall’s counterpart for Puget Sound, wound up with the loss after pitching the first four innings for the Loggers.