TACOMA, Wash. – Heather Menzer went 5-5 at the plate with two home runs and four RBI's but visiting Whitworth had to settle for a split of its Northwest Conference softball doubleheader at the University of Puget Sound on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates rolled to a 9-1 win in the opener, but the Loggers rallied to win the second game 7-4.
Whitworth is 6-5 overall and 3-2 in the NWC, while UPS is 6-10, 3-7. The teams will complete the series with another doubleheader on Sunday.
Game 1 – Whitworth 9, Puget Sound 1 (6 innings)
Menzer went 2-2 and homored while Corinne Vasiloff threw six strong innings to lead the Pirates to an easy win in the first game.
Menzer scored the game's first run, coming home on Jazz Johnson's double in the top of the second. Jessica Rusconi singled home Johnson with the inning's second run.
Whitworth blew the game open in the top of the third, scoring five runs. Menzer started the rally with a solo home run. Reagan Ellis had an RBI single later in the inning. She was able to score after an error in right field allowed base runners to take extra bases after Kennedy Robison's single. Haley Montoya singled in the final run of the rally.
Puget Sound scored its only run of the game in the bottom of the third on Emily Moore's RBI double.
Julia Dillon scored on Johnson's sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth for an 8-1 lead. Menzer added a sacrifice fly to score Dillon in the top of the sixth for the final run.
Menzer went 2 for 2 with two runs scored and two RBIs in the game. Johnson finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two driven in.
Vasiloff (3-3) allowed one run on seven hits over six innings. She struck out six batters and walked only one. Sam Bland (2-5) took the loss in the circle for the Loggers after allowing eight runs (six earned) on 11 hits in 4.1 innings.
Game 2 – Puget Sound 7, Whitworth 4
The Loggers scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to overcome a 4-2 deficit and earn a split of the doubleheader.
Menzer's infield single drove in Mattea Nelson for the Pirates' first run in the top of the first. Puget Sound tied the game in the bottom of the second on Jazzy Allen's RBI single.
Menzer's solo home run in the third, her fourth homer of the season, put the Pirates back in front. The Loggers tied the game again in the fourth when Moore scored on Allen's ground out to second base.
Whitworth took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth after consecutive RBI singles by Johnson and Robison.
Puget Sound rallied with five in the bottom of the fifth. Moore had a two-run single and Kendall Gantz added a two-run double in the rally.
The Pirates had the tying runs on base in the sixth, but could not string a rally together against UPS pitcher Savannah Smith. Smith (3-4) allowed four runs on nine hits and four walks in her complete-game. She struck out four.
Momi Lyman (2-2) pitched all six innings for Whitworth and allowed seven runs (six earned) on 13 hits. She struck out two and walked one.
Menzer finished the game 3 for 3 with a double and home runs. She drove in two and scored twice and was the only Pirate with more than one hit.
