HELENA, Mont. – Tess Eaton and
Allison Williams each pitched shutouts, and the Carroll offense did enough for Saints to get a doubleheader sweep over Northwest Christian in 2017 home opener Friday at Centennial Park in Helena.
Eaton allowed just four hits and struck out six to set the pace in game one. The Saints responded with runs in the first, second and fifth.
Megan Gipe drove the ball to led field to score
Anna ApRoberts, Alison Bayer tried to follow ApRoberts home but was gunned down at the plate.
In the second,
Kaydee Parsons doubled to center, and
Courtney Cloud followed with a double down the right field line to bring Parsons home.
Carroll got some insurance in the fifth when Sell reached on an error, and Anna Aproberts scored from third.
Eaton closed the door in the final three innings, allowing just one base runner during the span and closing the door on the Beacons.
Williams saw Eaton's performance and said that she could do one better. She allowed just three hits and had a no-hitter going through three before giving up a hit in the fourth. She struck out six batters and gave up just two walks.
The Carroll offense racked up eight hits but also left nine batters on base. They needed just a single run to earn the win and got it in the second when
Tianna Sell, hammered a solo home run to center field, clearing the fence by 15 feet.
The win gives the Saints the series win. The two teams will meet for another doubleheader tomorrow, but only the first game will count as a conference game.
"Today was a good day," head coach
Aaron Jackson said. "Anytime you can get a sweep in the Cascade and win the series on day one is huge. We look to build upon today and sweep the series and the day tomorrow."
Jackson was excited with the way his team performed when the Saints were in the field, tomorrow he hopes to see improvement on the offensive side of the ball.
"We pitched well and played great defense today," Jackson said. "Tomorrow we look to take another step offensively and bring all three facets of the game and put them all together."
The Saints and Beacons take the field at 11 a.m. with the second game to follow immediately afterward.
Live updates can be found on the Carroll twitter page at twitter.com/ccsaints.
