Western Oregon Takes Two From NNU

Jessica Hallmark led the Wolves at the plate, going five-for-10 with two home runs and four RBI.

Jessica Hallmark Photo courtesy: WOU Athletics

NAMPA, ID - Western Oregon University used a potent offensive attack to sweep a Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball twinbill from Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday afternoon at Halle Field in Nampa. The Wolves won the opener 7-0 and also took the nightcap 12-6.

Katie Fleer picked up both pitching wins and the Western Oregon line-up racked up 32 hits on the day. Fleer (15-4) started game one, tossing a three-hit shutout against the Crusaders, fanning eight. She then entered game two in relief of starter Christina Cooke in the fifth, eventually earning the win after the Crusaders tied the game at 5-5.

The Wolves improve to 25-14 overall and 13-5 in GNAC play, while the Crusaders fall to 9-40 overall and 2-20 in league action. Western Oregon, ranked sixth in this week's NCAA Division II West Region poll, has now won nine straight games and moved percentage points ahead of Seattle University (10-4) for first place in the GNAC.

Jessica Hallmark led the Wolves at the plate, going five-for-10 with two home runs and four RBI on the day. Both home runs came in game two, a solo shot in the third and a two-run blast in the sixth, for her fifth and sixth home runs of the year.

Krysta Pennington finished with five hits and three RBI, while Tyler Sutherland, Kristin Maglasang and Jamie Becker each had four hits during the doubleheader.

Jael Henthorn went four-for-six to lead the Crusaders, while Haley Hevern was two-for-four with an RBI triple in game two and both Kate Free and Vanessa Shaw smacked RBI doubles for NNU.

Rachel Bare (9-19) took the loss in the opener for the Crusaders and Dana Shipley (0-20) fell in game two.

Game two started with the Crusaders taking a quick 3-1 lead in the first behind the Hevern, Free, Shaw extra base-hit rally, but would see the Wolves tie the game in the third and then open up a 5-5 tie with seven runs in the sixth. WOU has seven hits in that sixth inning, including a two-run homer by Hallmark and a two-run double by Becker.

Western Oregon will play another crucial twinbill on Saturday at Central Washington. The Wildcats are just one-game back of the Wolves in the GNAC standings at 12-6.

Source: WOU Athletics

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