SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth split its first two home softball games of the 2016 season, losing 1-0 to George Fox in the opener and defeating the Bruins 3-1 in the nightcap of the doubleheader.

The Pirates are 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the NWC while the Bruins are 6-4, 3-3.  The teams will complete the four-game series on Sunday at Diana Marks Field.

Game 1 – George Fox 1, Whitworth 0
The teams traded zeros for six innings until the Bruins broke through with an unearned run in the top of the seventh to pull out the win.

Both starting pitchers were dominant.  Whitworth's Madi Perez allowed only four hits in seven complete innings.  She struck out five batters and walked only one.

But it wasn't enough to top GFU's Abbie Bergerson, who tossed a complete-game six-hitter to improve to 2-1 this season.  She struck out four Pirates and walked only one. 

George Fox scored its run in the top of the seventh after Courtney Howard led off with a double.  Perez looked like she might get out of it after getting the next two batters out and keeping Howard at second.  But then Kat Kylton's fly ball to right field fell out of the glove of Shannon Wessel, allowing Howard to score the winning run and dropping Perez to 2-2 this season.

Game 2 – Whitworth 3, George Fox 1
Makayla Lefever improved to 5-0 in the circle this season after tossing a complete-game three-hitter.

Chelsey Hayes' single to left drove in Whitworth's first run of the day with one out.  Alyssa Hall scored from second base.

The Pirates doubled the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Tessa Matthews singled home Hayes with two outs. 

Whitworth scored its third run of the game in the bottom of the sixth when Michelle Silva, who led off the inning with a single, scored from third after the catcher's pickoff throw went to left field.

George Fox scored its only run when Howard homered with one out in the top of the seventh.

Lefever struck out five batters and had allowed only two hits prior to Howard's home run.  She threw only 75 pitches and 59 of those were strikes in the highly-efficient outing.

Madison Sorensen started for George Fox and fell to 3-2 this season after allowing two earned runs on five hits in 5.0 innings.  She struck out six and walked two batters.