PORTLAND, Ore. – Visiting Whitworth defeated Lewis & Clark 7-2 and 3-1 to complete a four-game Northwest Conference softball sweep this weekend at Houston Field.

The Pirates and Pioneers battled the elements as well as each other, getting through several rain delays before Whitworth improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the NWC.  L&C dropped to 5-7, 0-4.  The Bucs held down a Pioneer offense that had come into the series averaging better than ten runs per game.

The Pirates will return home to host George Fox University next weekend in the first home games of the 2016 schedule for Whitworth.

Game 1 – Whitworth 7, Lewis & Clark 2
Michelle Silva's two RBIs helped stake the Pirates to a 7-0 lead and backed the complete-game effort of pitching Madi Perez.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the fourth when Morgan Portlock, who had reached on an error with one out, came around to score on a wild pitch.

Silva then drove in both of her RBIs with a double in the fifth inning.  She would later score on Allie Rude's ground out to increase the lead to 4-0.

The Bucs added three more in the top of the sixth.  A Myranda Ramirez triple drove in Alyssa Hall.  Ramirez then scored on an error off of the batt of Chelsea Hayes.  Later in the inning Portlock singled home Shannon Wessel with two outs for the final Pirate runs of the game.

L&C didn't get to Perez until the bottom of the sixth inning.  Emily Drevdahl's second home run of the series drove in Paige Salavea.  But Perez worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to improve to 2-1 this season.  She struck out five and didn't walk a batter in the complete-game five-hitter.

No Pirate batter had more than one hit.  Silva led the team with two RBIs, while Wessel scored twice.

Game 2 – Whitworth 3, Lewis & Clark 1
Kelsey Downey hit her second home run of the series and Makayla Lefever improved to 4-0 in the circle as the Pirates completed the four-game sweep.

Unlike the first game, the Whitworth bats got going early.  After Alyssa Hall reached on an error to open the game, Chelsey Hayes doubled her home with one out in the top of the first.

The score remained 1-0 until the fourth when Downey homered with two outs to double the lead.  After Hall doubled, Ramirez drove in Hall with an RBI single to give Whitworth a 3-0 advantage.

L&C scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the margin to 3-1.  But the Pioneers would not get to Lefever again.  L&C's first two batters reached on singles in the bottom of the fifth, but Lefever efficiently worked out of the jam.

Lefever scattered seven hits and did not walk or strike out a batter, letting her defenders do their jobs behind her.