LINCOLN, Calif. – Mountaineers Softball is soaking up the sun and wins while on the West Coast as they picked up a pair of wins Friday afternoon to improve to 4-0 on the California trip. Eastern Oregon picked up wins over William Jessup, 6-4, and No. 17 Hope International, 7-4, to improve to 6-3 on the year.
Game 1 – Eastern Oregon 6, William Jessup 4
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers recorded a baker's dozen hits in the first game and held the Warriors (8-8) to just five in the win. William Jessup had one less error in the contest at 1-2 edge.
• Through the first three innings, the contest was tied at 3-3 before WJU went ahead by one after the fifth. Eastern then scored the final three runs of the game to complete the comeback.
• Cailtin Crist drew a leadoff walk and immediately stole second.
Madison Stateler plated her home right away in the next at bat with an RBI single to give EOU the 1-0 advantage.
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Kayla Berg was a key component on both sides of the ball and started things off with a 1-2-3 frame to end the first. Her day in the circle and at the plate powered EOU to the win.
• In the second inning, WJU answered with a run score to tie the game at 1-1. The Warriors led off with a walk before a wild pitch and an RBI single through the left side evened things out.
• In the third inning, both squads put up a pair of runs to knot the score at 3-all. They combined for five hits with all four runs being earned.
• Crist once again led off with a base hit and scored two batters later on an RBI single by
Hannah Tyree. After
Allyson Bates came in to pinch run, she scored on a
Haley Ebner RBI base hit.
• The Mounties 3-1 lead did not last long as a two-run homer by the Warriors evened the score at 3-3. Following a leadoff single, the Warriors hit a home run to left center to tie the score up.
• Defense was stout in the fourth inning on both ends. Both teams worked a three up, three down frame to move to the fifth quickly. In the fifth, WJU went ahead for the first time at 4-3.
• EOU got two hits in the fifth on a potential two-out rally, but the Warriors escaped the jam. WJU led off with a single before a stolen base, an error, and a passed ball in that order scored the lone run.
• Down 4-3, EOU looked to rally for the comeback. Enter
Kayla Berg for the answer. Ebner led off the sixth with a single and two batters later, Berg delivered her second home run in as many days.
• Berg delivered a no doubt shot to center field, scoring her and Ebner. Berg's efforts gave EOU the 5-4 lead and they never relinquished it again.
• The Mountaineers added an insurance run in the seventh as Tyree singled up the middle to score Madsion Stateler. EOU then closed out the inning with a 1-2-3 frame to secure the win.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
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Kayla Berg went 2-3 in the win and had two EBI to go along with a run scored thanks to her homer.
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Hannah Tyree had the most hits, going 3-4 and tallied two RBI.
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Madison Stateler batted 2-3 on the day and scored one run to go along with an RBI.
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Haley Ebner had a two-hit day, going 2-4 at the plate and had one RBI.
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Caitlin Crist scored a team best two runs and batted 1-3 in the win.
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Mckenna Stallings got the win (2-1) in a relief effort. She fanned three batters in three innings.
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Kayla Berg also pitched five complete and had a team best five strikeouts on the day.
For the Warriors
• Sam Lorge led the bats, going 1-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
• Aaliyah Pineda went 1-3 with one RBI.
• Maddy Ybarra was 1-3 as well and scored one run.
• Natalie Nash drew two walks on the day and scored a run.
• Terra Goetz (0-2) pitched a complete game and had a game best seven strikeouts.
Game 2 – Eastern Oregon 7, No. 17 Hope International 4
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers second contests pitted them against their first ranked opponent of the year in No. 17 Hope International (11-6). They did not shy away from the challenge, leading wire-to-wire in the win.
• Both teams played well on defense, holding the other to under 10 hits. EOU had the edge though, 8-6, and rallied on costly errors by the Royals. HIU had four errors in the loss, while EOU had just two.
• The Mounties seven runs came in just two innings of work. They racked up four in the first, and had the other three come in the fourth. HIU scored once in the second and tacked on three in the sixth.
• Starter
Amanda Smith got EOU out to a solid start working a 1-2-3 frame to start. In the bottom of the first, four hits combined with two HIU errors helped Eastern score its four runs.
• A leadoff error got
Caitlin Crist on and she advanced to third on the play.
Madison Stateler quickly scored her with an RBI single to center field.
• HIU got back-to-back outs following the hit, but then committed its second error of the day. A mis-timed play by the shortstop on a hit by
Hannah Tyree allowed Staeler to score and made it 2-0.
• A hit by pitch on
Grace Gaither and a single from
Kayla Berg loaded the bases for EOU.
Karsyn Zaragoza then delivered with a two-RBI single, scoring Gaither and Tyree.
• The Royals looked to respond but mustered just one run over the next four innings, which came in the second. HIU drew a hit by pitch on the leadoff at bat and scored thanks in part to a pair of groundouts and a wild pitch.
• Despite allowing the one run, EOU's defense was stout against the 17th-ranked Royals. The Mounties gave up just two hits to the Royals in the first five innings.
• In the fourth, EOU tallied three hits and capitalized on another HIU error to open up the score to 7-1. The Royals got back-to-back out to start the frame, but succumbed to a two-out rally.
• Crist hit a two-out single and immediately stole second. She scored on an error by third base, allowing Stateler to get on base as well to make it a 5-1 game.
• Tyree pushed the score to 6-1 with a double to right field to plate home Stateler.
Taylor Dow then hit an RBI single through the right, scoring pinch runner
Allyson Bates to bring the Mounties lead to 7-1.
• The Royals looked to rally in the sixth and mounted a near comeback scoring three runs. Back-to-back singles by HIU combined with an EOU error scored the first run to make it 7-2.
• Another single, paired with a wild pitch and an RBI groundout scored the second run and cut the Mounties lead to four, 7-3. A sacrifice fly following the groundout quickly made it a 7-4 game.
• EOU ended the sixth with an unassisted groundout to first to stay in front by three runs. In the seventh, HIU managed to get runners on the corners with two outs, but Smith closed the game with a groundout to secure EOU's second 2-0 day.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
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Karsyn Zaragoza racked up two RBI and batted 1-3 in the win.
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Caitlin Crist scored a pair of runs and tied the team lead in hits going 2-4 at the plate.
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Hannah Tyree also had two hits, finishing 2-3, with a run scored and an RBI.
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Madison Stateler scored a pair of runs and had one RBI while batting 1-4.
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Amanda Smith (3-1) pitched another complete game and fanned two batters in the win.
For the Royals
• Skyler Mao led the with a game-high three hits in four at bats.
• Emily Puente and Marrisa Hernande each batted 1-3 in the loss and scored a run, respectively.
• Allie Puente had a game best four strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched in her no decision.
By the Numbers
1 - This is the Mountaineers first win over a ranked opponent since the 2019 season.
1- Game two's win is also the first ranked win for Head Coach
Nicole Christian.
2 -
Kayla Berg has a two-run home run in each of the last two days in California.
4 - EOU has recorded a stolen base in each of the last four games.
8 - The Mounties recorded a season-high eight strikeouts in the win over William Jessup.
4 - Eastern gave up four runs in both games, with three being earned in each.
Up Next
• The exact same two opponents. Eastern will face the exact same two teams from Friday on Saturday, but the order the second time around will be flipped. EOU will face No. 17 HIU at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, Feb. 26, followed by WJU at 12 p.m.
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