The Whitworth women’s softball team did not surrender to the Spokane weather last weekend. After some shuffling of the schedule, the Pirates swept the Pioneers of Lewis & Clark College in four games at their home Diana Marks Field.
“The girls like to play at home,” head Coach Cristal Brown said. “We don’t get an overabundance of opportunities to do that, so it makes them proud.”
The Bucs played proud, too. Whitworth’s bats were explosive with 46 hits on the weekend.
In six innings in Sunday’s first game, the Bucs dominated the Pioneers 9-1. Freshman centerfielder Sacha Clow had two hits, two RBIs, and scored three runs. Senior second baseman Sami Parr’s RBI double gave the Pirates a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. Junior centerfielder Heather Hesselgesser, senior catcher Ashley Greig, and Parr all had two hits in the game. Freshman pitcher Taylor Gilbert pitched a complete game allowing three hits.
Lewis & Clark battled in Sunday’s later game, but the Bucs still pulled it out. Sophomore shortstop Caylan Haehl and Hesselgesser led Whitworth with three hits apiece. Hesselgesser also added two RBIs.
“Even when they started scoring some runs, we knew we were going to come back,” Brown said. “Hitting wise we were super confident.”
The Pirates entered the bottom of the seventh with the game tied. Clow batted in Hesselgesser for the winning run.
The series continued on Monday to make up for being unable to play due to field conditions on Saturday. The Pirates took the first game 8-4. Parr blasted two homers for Whitworth and scored three runs, while adding two RBIs. Hesselgesser and sophomore first baseman Julia Johnson also had three hits.
Whitworth finished out the weekend strong with a 14-6 routing of the Pioneers on Monday afternoon. The game was called off after five innings in respect of the NCAA 6-run rule, however Clow impressively still tied a school record with six RBIs, while Johnson added five more. Junior designated player Jamie Brunner had three hits and a pair of RBIs.
“They’re learning how to come back after giving up after a few runs,” Brown said. “They’re learning how to win games and bats are on fire so those are all good ingredients to take forward.”
The Bucs, who improved to 17-15 over the weekend, travel to take on Willamette University in Salem, Ore., next Friday and Saturday.
Contact Sena Hughes at [email protected].
