The softball team took care of business Saturday afternoon, pounding out 26 hits and allowing ’s to score in only one of 12 innings as the Redhawks swept the Saints, 11-0 and 11-4, at Logan Field to clinch at least a share of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title.
’s offense kicked into gear in the second inning of the first game, as Sandra Hernandez (, ) singled and scored on a triple by Brenda Stice (). Jessica Amador (, ) laced a single to plate Stice, and Cassie Cueto () drove in Amador on a double. Cueto scored on a single by Katie Gould (, ), and then Jane Purdy (, ) doubled, Lauren Berin (Lacey, ) doubled to drive in Gould, and Kaha Weir (Honolulu, Hawaii) drove in Purdy with a single.
In the third inning, Gould hit a triple to left field to score Cueto and Katie Antich (). Purdy followed with an RBI single that scored Gould, with Weir driving in pinch runner Katie Petersen () on a single and Hernandez hitting a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Berin.
Erin Martin () set a new school single-season record with her 24th victory, giving up only four hits while striking out four batters. It is Martin’s ninth shutout of the season, including the fourth shutout in her last five games.
The Redhawks took the early lead in game two as Megan MacIsaac () hit her first home run of the season with a shot to right-center field. loaded the bases in the fifth inning, and Purdy capitalized with a single that scored Gould and Antich. Berin followed with a double that scored MacIsaac, and Weir drove in Petersen, again pinch running for Purdy, with a groundout to give the home team a 5-0 lead.
’s (21-33, 7-17 GNAC) broke through in the sixth inning, scoring four runs on five hits. responded with six runs in the bottom of the sixth, as Purdy drove in Jamie Foote () with a single, Berin hit a double that scored MacIsaac and Purdy, Weir laced a single to right-center field to score Berin, and Foote singled up the middle to score Weir and Stice.
Kelsey Reynolds () pitched her 18th complete game of the season, picking up her 13th victory against only seven defeats. Reynolds gave up nine hits and the four runs in the sixth inning, but struck out six batters without walking anybody.
set a new school record with its 37th victory of the year, breaking the previous mark set last year when the team earned 36 wins on its way to the regional final. Ranked seventh in this week’s regional rankings, the Redhawks are almost assured of a berth into the postseason no matter what happens with Western Oregon, who would earn the GNAC’s automatic bid if it sweeps Western Washington Saturday in
The selections to the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament will be announced sometime Sunday, May 4. The West Regional will be hosted by in , and will begin Wednesday, May 7.