MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Bushnell softball team opened the 2022 season with a road doubleheader at NCAA Division II Western Oregon on Tuesday, falling 4-2 and 6-4.
Co-Head Coach
Jim Patrick said, "We played well, we just couldn't push runs across with runners on base." The Beacons left eight runners on base in the first game and nine in the second.
GAME ONE: Western Oregon 4, Bushnell 2
Anabel Mendez highlighted the opener, hitting Bushnell's first home run of the season. The Wolves edged the Beacons in the early game after a seventh-inning comeback fell short.
Trailing 4-0 in the sixth, Mendez sent a home run to left field to get Bushnell on the scoreboard. She finished 2-for-4 to lead the Beacons at the plate.
Braydi Johnson led off the seventh with a walk before using a pair of wild pitches to advance to third.
Krystal Akagi was walked with one out before getting herself into scoring position with a stolen base.
Johnson crossed home after a two-out throwing error by the Wolves allowed
Madison Steelman to get on base. A bouncing ground ball in the following at-bat hit Steelman on her way to second to end the game on an interference call.
Sam Silver (0-1) had a strong outing for the Beacons, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits in six innings of work. She recorded six strikeouts, three of which came in the second frame.
Maddie Mayer (1-0) got the pitching win for the Wolves, allowing one run on four hits in six innings. Nicki Derrick recorded the save, coming in to close out the game in the seventh.
GAME TWO: Western Oregon 6, Bushnell 2
Aliyah Kelly (pictured) retired the first 10 batters in her freshman debut, getting the start for the Beacons in the second game.
Bushnell got on the board first after an RBI-single to left by Mendez in the top of the third. Akagi scored on the play after drawing her third walk of the day to get on base. A bases-loaded walk in the fourth gave Bushnell a 2-0 advantage.
The Wolves went on to score six unanswered runs, five off the bat of Natalie Willoughby. She hit a two-run homer in the fourth and a three-run homer in the sixth.
Reilly Tidwell and Chelsea Smith (1-0) split time in the circle for WOU, with Smith picking up the win after the Wolves pulled ahead in the sixth. Smith did not allow a hit in her three innings of work and struck out five Beacons.
Kelly (0-1) gave up six runs on six hits in her first time out.
Breanna Hilton, also making her freshman debut, pitched the final two outs.
Up next, the Beacons travel to California to take on William Jessup University (Feb. 8) and Simpson University (Feb. 9).
