LA GRANDE, Ore. – For the second day in a row, Bushnell dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 11 Eastern Oregon University as the Beacons were swept in their final road games for 2024.
 
GAME ONE: Eastern Oregon 2, Bushnell 1
 
Bushnell ace Emily Cole nearly pulled off another incredible upset in the opener as the Beacons came within three outs of a 1-0 upset victory.
 
Senior Hannah Tennant did all the heavy lifting on offense, breaking through against EOU's Kaylie Hoskins with a solo home run to right field in the top of the second inning.
 
Cole was fantastic for the Beacons and kept the Mounties off the scoreboard for the first six innings of the game, allowing just five hits over that stretch. Unfortunately, back-to-back walks were followed by a walk-off two-run double in the bottom of the seventh, allowing EOU to steal the victory.
 
Bushnell finished the game with four hits, Tennant's third homer of the season along with three singles from Haleigh Wambolt who went 3-for-3. Hoskins threw six innings, striking out 14 batters to give her 31 K's across 15 innings in the series. Kylie Parsons (16-2) pitched the seventh inning and claimed the victory.
 
Cole (7-14) went the distance for the Beacons, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out five. Before the seventh, only two runners had reached second base all day.  
 
GAME TWO: Eastern Oregon 10, Bushnell 1 (Five Innings)
 
The non-conference closer of the series was all EOU as the Mounties out-hit Bushnell 11-4, claiming the run-rule victory. Eastern posted six runs in the second inning, one in the third and three in the fourth to take the 10-0 lead.
 
Bushnell was able to muster one run in the fifth when Taylor Kenworthy scored on an error.
 
Emma Fournier (2-3) took the loss for the Beacons, giving up six runs on seven hits in two innings. Madison Steelman led the Beacon offense, going 2-for-3 in the game.
 
Next Up: Eastern Oregon (32-6, 21-3 CCC) remains tied for first place in the CCC with No. 5 Oregon Tech. The teams will take on Southern Oregon and College of Idaho respectively next weekend with the conference crown on the line. The Beacons (11-31, 5-19 CCC) return home next weekend and will close out the season against Warner Pacific University (5-31, 4-20).