La Grande, Ore. – Whitworth closed out the non-conference portion of its 2015 softball schedule with a dominating doubleheader sweep of Eastern Oregon University on Wednesday afternoon.  The Pirates won the opener 11-3 in five innings then took the nightcap 7-1 to improve to 18-6 this season.  The Mountaineers dropped to 12-13.

Shannon Wessel drove in five runs in the sweep while Peyton McMahon drove in four runs.

Whitworth, currently second in the Northwest Conference standings, returns to NWC play this weekend with a four-game series at Puget Sound.

Game 1 – Whitworth 11, EOU 3 (5 innings)
Peyton McMahon and Kayla Batastini homered to lead Whitworth to a win in a game that was shortened to five innings by the eight-run rule.

The Pirates jumped ahead with five runs in the first inning off of EOU starter Lindsey Walchli, chasing her after only one third of an inning. Shannon Wessel singled in Megan John with the first run and then Wessel scored on Kelsey Stroshine's ground ball to shortstop when the throw home got away.  Batastini added a two-run double later in the inning.

McMahon hit her fourth home run of the season in the top of the second inning to increase the lead to 6-0.

EOU got to Whitworth starting pitcher Madi Perez in the bottom of the third.  A two-run homer by Marisa Gonzales was the big blow.

But the Pirates scored three more runs in the top of the fourth to regain a six-run lead.  Wessel tripled home two runs then scored on McMahon's ground out.

Whitworth scored two more times in the top of the fifth to open an eight-run lead.  Batastini hit her third homer of the season.  Then Chelsey Hayes doubled home Alyssa Hall with the final run.

Perez improved to 9-3 this season after allowing three runs on three hits in five innings of work.  She struck out three and walked three.

Walchli dropped to 7-10 after allowing five runs (four earned) on three hits and two walks in her 0.1 innings.  Ashley Driscoll worked the rest of the game and gave up six runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings.

Game 2 – Whitworth 7, EOU 1
Makayla Lefever pitched her third straight dominating victory in the circle to improve to 9-2 this season.  She allowed one run on only four hits with four strikeouts and no walks in the seven-inning effort. 

The Pirates jumped ahead with a run in the third inning when John singled home Hall.  Whitworth added two more runs in the fifth when McMahon doubled home Wessel and John.

The Mountaineers cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Shelby Baertsch homered for the only run of the game off of Lefever.

But Wessel answered with a two-run homer of her own in the top of the sixth.  It was her second of the season.

Whitworth scored its final two runs in the top of the seventh on an RBI double by Hayes and an RBI groundout by John.