By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
In what was slated to be the home opener, the weather chased Wolves softball away to Nampa for four games against Northwest Nazarene.
The Wolves and Crusaders split the series, with two wins apiece.
Sophomore Haley Fabian pitched the first game of the series, a 5-1 win for the Wolves.
Fabian pitched a complete game, striking out three and allowed just the one run off of eight Northwest Nazarene hits. Her effective pitching left a solitary runner stranded in five scoreless innings, as she gave up the one hit then shut down the rest of the side.
The win improved her record to 7-6, her first time having a winning record as a starting pitcher this season.
The game opened up with an explosive first inning. Northwest Nazarene, still playing as the away team despite relocating venues, batted first. The first at-bat of the day resulted in a double, which was soon batted in for the Crusaders’ only run of the game.
The Wolves responded in their half of the inning by putting up three hits and two runs. Senior Kelsie Gardner hit a double in the first at-bat, then advanced to third off a hit by sophomore Ryanne Huffman. Gardner stole home for Western’s first point. Huffman was later batted in by first year student Ashley Doyle.
The bottom of the fourth saw the Wolves batting come alive again, which opened with another hit for Doyle. First year student Gabriella Alonso came on to pinch run for her, and was later batted in by senior Mercedes Green.
Sophomore Chyanne Rimer later hit a double for two RBIs, as sophomore Courtney Lau Hee and junior Zoe Clark both scored runs.
The second game of the day went to eight innings before the Wolves won the decision, 2-1.
Junior Lizzet Dominguez was the starting pitcher, but the win went to Sammi Cadwallader’s closing performance. Cadwallader came onto the mound in the eighth inning with the score knotted up at 1-1 and two runners on base.
Senior Ashlee Lynch scored the first run of the game in the fifth inning, when she was batted in by a Huffman single.
A Crusaders run scored in the seventh inning tied the game but three pop flies by Western batters in the bottom of the inning sent the game into extra innings.
Cadwallader came on in the eighth inning with a runner on first and second. A strikeout and a double play kept the Crusaders scoreless. Alonso then scored the winning run in the Wolves’ half of the inning.
April 8 was the second day of action in the series and the Wolves dropped both games.
The first game saw Northwest Nazarene hit a grand slam in the third inning and never look back as the Wolves went on to a 4-6 loss. Gardner hit two solo home runs herself in the game, while Lynch also hit a homer with one runner on base.
The fourth and final game of the weekend saw the Wolves lose 3-6.
First year student Kaylee Harmon picked up her first two runs of the season in the second day’s games, her second coming in the second inning of the second game off a Gardner RBI.
Senior catcher Ku’ulei Siolo scored a run in the fourth inning, the batted in Ashlee Lynch in the fifth.
But it wasn’t enough for the Wolves to win. The 2-2 weekend saw Western Oregon progress to an overall record of 16-15, with a 3-7 conference record. The Wolves have moved up one spot in the GNAC standings, now ahead of Simon Fraser.
Their next chance at a home opener comes Saturday, April 15, in a double header against Concordia.
The Wolves remain the only team in the conference who have yet to play a home game this year.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
