The 18th-ranked softball team did not show much rust from an 18-day layoff, as pitchers Kelsey Reynolds (, ) and Erin Martin (, ) pitched shutouts to give the Redhawks victories over Northwest Nazarene (4-0) and (2-0) on the first day of the Clarion Hotel Central Washington Invitational at Columbia Playfields.
With two outs in the bottom of the first inning against Northwest Nazarene (0-7), Jane Purdy (Missoula, Mont.) drew a walk, followed by a single by Lauren Berin (Lacey, Wash.) and a walk by Sandra Hernandez (Redlands, Calif.) to load the bases. Jaime Foote’s (Lynnwood, Wash.) grounder to third base was mishandled, allowing Purdy and Berin to score the first two runs of the game.
In the third inning, Megan MacIsaac (Santa Barbara, Calif.) reached on an error. Purdy followed with a single that was misplayed by the Crusader right fielder, allowing MacIsaac to score. In the fourth inning, Heather Hansen (Redmond, Wash.) walked and was replaced by pinch runner Katie Antich (Spokane, Wash.), who stole second, advanced to third on a ground out, and scored on a double by Cassie Cueto (Benton City, Wash.).
Reynolds earned her third shutout in four starts, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out three batters. No Crusader advanced past second base as the sophomore pitcher lowered her ERA to 0.27 and her opposing batting average to .178.
Against defending GNAC champion (5-3), SeattleU struck again in the first inning. Katie Petersen (Mission Viejo, Calif.) led off the game with a single and advanced to second on an illegal pitch. MacIsaac doubled to right center to drive in Petersen. Purdy followed with a single that advanced MacIsaac to third, who then scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Berin.
That would be all the runs Martin needed, as she gave up four hits while striking out seven Viking batters. The Vikings threatened in the third inning with two runners on and nobody out, but Cueto threw out a runner at the plate, and Martin forced 2007 GNAC Player of the Year Liza Teichler to fly out to center field to end the threat.
Purdy finished the day 5-for-5 with a walk and a run scored. MacIsaac scored twice during the day, while Cueto had a hit in each game. The eight-game winning streak to start the season gives SeattleU its best start ever as well as its longest winning streak since a nine-game string near the end of the 2005 season.
Seattle University (8-0) continues defense of its Clarion Hotel Central Washington Invitational title from last year, facing Sonoma State at 11 a.m. and ’s, a team it has already defeated twice this season, at 1:45 p.m.