PORTLAND – Saints softball drops two games against NCAA DII Concordia University 6-0 and 9-8 in at the Owens Sports Complex in Oregon on Tuesday.
In the first game, Concordia struck early after a sacrifice fly drove in a run giving the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
Concordia broke out in the second, scoring five runs, including a pair of two-run homeruns that gave the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead and eventual victory.
The Saints had runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh inning but were unable to get them across the plate.
Megan Gipe pitched the first four innings, giving up six runs, five earned with five strike outs.
Tess Eaton closed out the game, going two hitless innings.
Allison Bayer went 3-4 during the game while
Paige Blake went 2-3.
"We played a very good team in tough conditions." said head coach
Aaron Jackson. "We got runners on but couldn't find the hit to drive them in."
The Cavaliers took another lead in the first inning of game two after a two RBI double in the second game.
Carroll responded in the second inning with
TJ Rucker's first-career homerun that drove in
Justine Taylor and
Tianna Harper. The Saints added another run in the inning after Bayer reached on a fielder's choice scoring
Jadeen Sakauye to push the lead to 4-2.
Jaylin Kenney drove in Taylor and Harper with a double in the third innings. Rucker scored later in the inning after Blake singled down the right field line to give Carroll a 7-1 advantage after three.
Rucker drove in another run in the fourth inning, scoring
Taylor Otswald and extending the lead to 8-2.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Cavaliers cut the lead to 8-3 after a ground out, scoring a run.
Concordia chipped away at the Carroll advantage in the sixth inning scoring three runs on a ground out and a two-RBI double, making the score 8-6 Saints.
After a run scored on a throwing error, the Cavaliers were down one in the seventh inning. With one out and a runner on base, Meghan Luebbert hit a walk-off home run to center field to close out the 9-8 win.
MacKenna Landis went five and two-thirds innings for the Saints, giving up six runs, five earned, on 11 hits and struck out four.
Ashley Davis picked up her first loss (2-1) after pitching two-thirds of an inning, giving up three runs.
Kenney went 3-5 on the day driving in two RBIs while Blake went 3-4 with one RBI and a walk. Rucker finished the game 2-3 with four RBIs, two runs scored and a walk.
"We battled back and our effort was great today." Jackson said. "I think we played really well and this preseason has prepared us for a tough conference."
Carroll travels to College of Idaho on March 11 at 2 p.m. and Eastern Oregon on March 12 at 12 p.m. for their first-ever Cascade Conference games. Games at College of Idaho begin at 2 p.m. MST and Eastern Oregon at 12 p.m. MST.
