CU's Mallory Callahan went 5-for-8 with four runs score in a pair of wins agianst EOU on Friday.
Concordia Trio Combine for Pair of Shutouts against Eastern Oregon
BOX SCORES -- GAME 1 : GAME 2
PORTLAND, Ore.—After a three-hit shutout by Renee Santos in the opener, Concordia’s Danielle Pulfrey and Bethany Dempster combined to blank Eastern Oregon in the second game for a 5-0 and 7-0 sweep of the Mountaineers in softball action on Friday afternoon.
With the wins, Concordia, ranked No. 6 in the NAIA, improved to 24-2 on the season and 13-1 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Eastern Oregon fell to 12-24 overall and 3-13 in the CCC.
Amid a mostly sunny and wind-free day at Delta Park in northeast Portland, the Cavalier pitching staff combined to strike out 19 batters while allowing just seven hits in 14 innings of shutout ball.
Santos tallied 12 of those strikeouts to pick up the win in the opener. Meanwhile, the Cavalier offense got off to a quick start with three scores in the first inning. After groundouts to start the frame, Ali Paz and Cameron Way got the attack started with back-to-back walks to set up RBI hits from Becca Gawlista and Tina Garcia.
The Cavs added a run in the second with Gawlista connecting on a single to score Mallory Callahan while a Way shot through the middle plated Callahan in the sixth for the team’s fifth run.
EOU’s main threat occurred in the first inning by drawing three walks with just one out, but the visiting side came up short as Santos forced a fielders’ choice to third for a force out at the plate and followed with a swinging strikeout to escape the initial stanza unscathed.
After the first inning, EOU managed just two runners past first base. Kassi Reisbeck singled down the left-field line and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Byrne in the third and in the seventh a successful bunt from Megan Hardman advanced a pinch runner following a Suzie Espinoza single to right field.
Santos registered her final strikeout for the second out of the seventh and snared a come-backer to the pitchers’ circle for the final out of the game.
Concordia outhit EOU 11-3 in the game with Callahan finishing with a 3-for-4 performance. Espinoza went 2-for-3 to record two of the team’s three hits.
Jennifer McDonnell was charged with the loss after lasting five innings and giving up four of the five runs. McDonnell, a freshman, posted four strikeouts and four walks.
In the second game of the afternoon, Pulfrey followed Santos’ with four innings of dominating work by facing just one batter over the minimum during her outing. Pulfrey allowed just one hit, a single in the second that was wiped off the basepaths by a liner to first where Way corralled the shot and quickly stepped on the base for the double play.
Jordan Barnett managed the only other baserunner for the Mountaineers against Pulfrey with a leadoff walk in the third inning. Striking out five of the 13 batter she faced, Dempster pitched the final three frames for Concordia to maintain the shutout.
Paz blasted a shot over the left-field fence with Callahan on first to give the Cavs two runs in the first inning. The team added four runs in the second with three coming off a single swing by Was as she lifted a two-out home run ball to deep center with Paz and Callahan on base.
McDonnell was credited with the loss after going 1.2 innings and allowing six runs, only two of which were earned. Whitney Hodges was effective in a relief appearance for the Mountaineers, allowing a single run on four hits in the final 4.1 innings.
Concordia struck for nine hits compared to four for the Mountaineers. The first three batters in the CU lineup each had multi-hit games with Kayla Vickaryous and Callahan going 2-for-4 and Paz going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored.