EUGENE, Ore. – Needing three wins in three conference games over the weekend to qualify for their first Cascade Conference post-season, the Beacons fell short on Saturday, splitting an opening CCC double-header against Northwest University. The Eagles took the opener in ten innings behind a walk-off grand slam.
 
GAME ONE: Northwest 11, Bushnell 7 (10 Innings)
 
Miranda Jensen got the call for the Beacons in the opener, and threw the entire ten-inning affair, but suffered the loss as Alyssa Maldonado hit a grand slam in the bottom of the tenth to take the win. The Beacons had been on the edge of victory in regulation, but NU had tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh on a leadoff home run.
 
Bushnell again went ahead in the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly from Anna Cardwell and an RBI single by Faith Wayman, but Northwest again tied the contest in the bottom half on a pair of sacrifice flies.
 
It was a big game offensively for the Beacons who pounded out 16 hits including four that went for extra bases. Anabel Mendez opened what would be a huge day for her by going 4-for-5 with two runs, two RBI and a home run.
 
Head Coach Katie Duroe said, "The girls battled so hard and never gave up. Anabel was lights out and Miranda did a great job pitching for us, pushing through an immense amount of pain. The fight the girls showed was exciting to watch unfold."
 
GAME TWO:  Bushnell 8, Northwest 6 
 
Leslie Reynaga came on in relief and struck out three batters to end the bottom of the seventh inning, helping Bushnell pick up the split.
 
After taking a 5-0 lead, the Beacons saw NU crawl back into contention with two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. The top of the seventh saw the visitors make it an 8-4 game on a two-run double from Mendez, who later scored on an error.
 
Starter Sam Silver hit the first batter of the bottom half and the next hitter drilled a two-run shot to make it 8-6, fueling the call to Reynaga.
 
Mendez finished the game hitting 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs, and five runs batted in while Jordan Kuykendall had a 3-for-3 game with three runs.
 
Bushnell will return to the field for their final two games on Sunday afternoon.