HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll College Softball team fell in a pair of games to open their weekend series against No. 15 Eastern Oregon at Centennial Park on Friday afternoon.

The Fighting Saints (16-17-1, 9-10) simply couldn't find a way to get a base runner home on Friday, dropping two scoreless games to the No. 15-ranked Mountaineers (27-5, 18-2).

GAME ONE:
Kennedy Venner (Billings, Mont. / SO) pitched a very respectable game, with seven strikeouts and just three hits allowed, but EOU's Kaylee Hoskins, one of the best in the NAIA, was outstanding in the circle for the Mountaineers in the opener. The Junior punched out 16 Saints en route to a complete game shutout. 

After striking out the side in the first frame, Venner got in a bit of trouble in the second. A walk, followed by a sac bunt moved Gates Leatherwood into scoring position, where Madelyn Durham was able to bring her home with a sharp double to the fence, and EOU took a 1-0 lead.

Haley Tyree provided Eastern with a double in the fifth inning, scoring the runner all the way from first, adding the insurance run in the 2-0 win for the Mountaineers.

Hits were hard to come by, as each team totaled just three hits in the opener.

GAME TWO:
A big third inning by the Mountaineers doomed Carroll in the second leg of the doubleheader, putting the Saints in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

Following a pair of three-up, three-down innings by Mackenzie Depaoli (Fernley, Nev. / FR), the EOU bats finally caught on in the top of the third. Kelly Monaghan started the run with a solo shot to deep left field, and then Karly Hanoski brought home two with a single. With the bases loaded, one run was walked in, and Hannah Tyree scored on a passed ball to bring the score to 5-0 in favor of Eastern. Tyree added an RBI single in the fourth, bringing the score to 6-0 where it would remain.

Again, Carroll struggled to string together hits, finishing with just four hits as a team in the night cap.

The Saints will look to get their revenge on the second day of the weekend doubleheader tomorrow, with the morning game counting towards CCC play, followed by a non-conference matchup in the afternoon.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com tomorrow evening for a recap of the action, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.