by Will Carsh

Last Saturday, the Whitworth softball team played two games against the Pacific University Boxers, winning the first game 4-2 and the second game 5-0. The team played the Boxers again for two more games on Monday. Those results can be found online at whitworthpirates.com.

The Saturday game began with the score tied 0-0 after the first inning; however, a home run by sophomore catcher Kayla Batastini resulted in bringing sophomore infielder Kelsey Stroshine and sophomore infielder Tessa Matthews through home, bringing the score up to 3-0. Stroshine would later land a hit that resulted in sophomore utility player Shannon Wessel reaching home as well in the sixth inning, bringing the score up to 4-0. At the top of the seventh inning, the Boxers scored two runs of their own, but were unable to surpass or tie Whitworth’s score. The game ended with a 4-2 win for the Bucs.

“Scoring early on allowed our pitchers to not be as stressed out,” freshman outfielder Chelsey Hayes said.

The second game kicked off with Whitworth scoring two runs in the first inning due to Matthews landing a hit that allowed senior outfielder Peyton McMahon and junior outfielder Alyssa Hall to make it home. That was followed in the second inning by Hayes landing a hit that resulted in a Whitworth run by Batastini. In the sixth inning, junior catcher Megan John landed a hit which allowed Stroshine to add another run to the board. John would eventually score by walking to home due to a fielding error, resulting in a final score of 5-0.

“It was really awesome to come out and win the first two games against a team we lost to last year,” Batastini said.

“Our team played united in every aspect of the game. We gelled with each other, which is our goal- unity,” Stroshine said.

Next week, the softball team plays on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Eastern Oregon University.