Freshman Taylor Bussey is ranked No. 2 in the CCC with eight home runs this season.
Bussey boosts Cavs to weekend sweep
PORTLAND, Ore. – Freshman
Taylor Bussey (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) hit a home run in both games to help lead Concordia University to a 3-0, 4-1 sweep over Northwest Christian University in Cascade Collegiate Conference softball action at Delta Park.
With the sweep, Concordia improved to 22-14 on the season and 14-4 in conference games. Northwest Christian fell to 7-22 overall and 6-12 in the CCC.
Concordia will return to action on Tuesday, April 15 when it hosts Northwest University. Opening pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Delta Park. The Cavaliers currently sit one game back of CCC-leading Oregon Tech (24-8, 15-3 CCC).
NCU will return home for the first of four straight home doubleheaders on April 15 when the Beacons entertain Southern Oregon.
GAME 1: Concordia 3, Northwest Christian 0
Concordia scored a single run in the fourth inning and added two more in the sixth to earn a 3-0 shutout against Northwest Christian in the first game of a CCC softball doubleheader at Delta Park on Saturday.
Bussey led off the home half of the fourth inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Kate Santos (Gladstone, Ore./Gladstone H.S.). Batting with Bussey in scoring position,
Mariah Jimenez (Camas, Wash./Camas H.S.) placed a single through the left side to plate the game's first run.
Moving to the sixth inning, Bussey increased Concordia's lead to 2-0 with a solo home run to right-center field. The Cavs completed its tally when Jimenez came around to score on a
Rielly Byrd (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce H.S.) single through the middle.
McKenzie Marshall (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City H.S.) (12-4) picked up the win after allowing three hits in 7.0 innings of work. The senior struck out seven and walked one to complete the team's fourth shutout of the season.
NCU starter Jill Suratt took the loss as she surrendered three runs on six hits over 6.0 innings. Surratt struck out two batters while walking three.
GAME TWO: Concordia 4, Northwest Christian 1
Beginning in the second, Concordia scored single runs in four straight innings to complete the Saturday sweep over Northwest Christian 4-1.
Armed with the early lead,
Lucy Baldovino (Medford, Ore./South Medford H.S.) (7-3) kept the Beacons in check by allowing just the one run on six hits while striking out nine batters.
Kate Santos (Gladstone, Ore./Gladstone H.S.) powered CU to the opening run by smacking a sacrifice fly to left field to score
Cassidy Horner (Cottonwood, Calif./West Valley H.S.), who reached earlier on a single.
In the third inning,
Rielly Byrd (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce H.S.) led off the inning by being hit by a pitch and quickly scattered to third on a throwing error which placed Byrd and
Meghan Luebbert (Sandy, Ore./Sandy H.S.) at the corners. Taking advantage of the miscue,
Katie Aden (Tigard, Ore./Tigard H.S.) drove in the Cavs' second run of the game with a groundout to the shortstop
After another Bussey blast put the Cavs up 3-0 in the fourth, the Cavs completed its attack with a
Cassidy Horner (Cottonwood, Calif./West Valley H.S.) single through the left side which gave Luebbert a chance to score.
Northwest Christian scored its only run of the doubleheader in the sixth inning with back-to-back doubles by Randi Kostner and Gaby Stover. Koster led off the inning with a drive to right and scored on Stove's hit down the left-field line.