PORTLAND, Ore. – Visiting Whitworth clinched a spot in the 2022 Northwest Conference softball tournament by holding on for a 7-6 victory over Lewis & Clark in the finale of a four-game softball series on Sunday at the Huston Sports Complex. L&C won the first game 6-3.
Delayna Waite had a huge second game for the Pirates (25-11, 15-9 NWC), who can do no worse than fourth place in the league standings with one regular season series left at George Fox next weekend. The sixth-place Pioneers (13-21, 8-16) will finish against Willamette.
Game 1: Lewis & Clark 6, Whitworth 3
Only one day after allowing nine runs without recording an out as a starting pitcher, Lewis & Clark's Cassidy Crusberg kept Pirate bats in check for six innings to pick up a win.
Like they did in Saturday's opener, the Bucs scored quickly. Maddy Thomas doubled to score Rylee Gentner in the top of the first. However, Crusberg limited the damage to one run.
Crusberg helped her cause by singling home the first Pioneer run in the bottom of the second. L&C added another in the third when Caeleigh Rosenbach scored on a wild pitch.
Samantha Gildersleeve hit her sixth and seventh home runs of the season in the fourth and fifth innings to help the Pioneers grab a 5-1 lead.
Whitworth got two unearned runs back in the sixth when Haley Montoya scored on a failed pickoff attempt and Julie Dillon came home on a fielder's choice from Jazz Johnson.
L&C added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Mari Alvarez.
Crusberg (3-8) allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk in six innings. Alyssa Abe threw a perfect seventh inning for her second save of the season.
Corinne Vasiloff (14-9) saw a seven-game winning streak end after allowing six runs on 12 hits and two walks in six innings.
Thomas had two of Whitworth's five hits.
Game 2: Whitworth 7, Lewis & Clark 6
Delayna Waite hit two home runs and had six runs batted in to lead the Pirates to the tournament-clinching victory.
Whitworth scored four in the top of the second inning. The first run scored when Taylor Hofheins hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, scoring Heather Menzer. Waite followed with a three-run shot to center field.
Waite added a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth for a 5-0 lead.
The Pioneers scored four in the bottom of the fifth. Lily Moffitt got L&C on the board with an RBI single. Olivia Brackin followed with her eighth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left.
Waite gave the Pirates necessary insurance runs in the top of the seventh with a two-run home run. She now has three this season and she nearly doubled her season RBI total to 13.
Brackin had a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh and was the potential tying run when Vasiloff got the final batter to fly out to Waite in left field.
Vasiloff faced only the one batter to earn her first save of the year. Momi Lyman (11-2) got the win after allowing six runs on 10 hits and three walks in 6.2 innings.
Crusberg (3-9) started the second game as well for L&C and allowed four runs on seven hits in three innings. Kylie Hill threw the next three innings before Abe pitched the seventh.
