While it was a rough weekend for the Loggers’ softball team, they were finally able to snap the long losing streak that had been plaguing them for much of the season.
After two losses to Linfield on Monday, Apr. 2 pushed the Loggers’ losing streak to a staggering 21 games, the team was at a loss as to how to right the ship. They had not won a game since the end of February, and many of the games in between were not even close, as 15 of their 21 consecutive losses were by five or more runs. They also had a problem with closing out games, blowing several leads in the final inning.
However, there was reason for optimism as the Loggers traveled to Portland to take on Lewis & Clark on Friday, Apr. 6. Their only wins of the season, in a double-header sweep at the end of February, came against the very same Lewis & Clark Bearcats. Looking for their first win in 22 attempts, the Loggers did not mess around. Sophomore Jenica Holt (Pleasanton, Calif.) singled to lead off the game, and scored two batters later, as senior Aryn Grouse (Corvallis, Ore.) singled her home from second base. The team did not stop there, getting an RBI single, a walk and a two-run double to take an early 4-0 lead in the first inning.
To their credit, the Loggers continued to add to their lead, adding three more runs in the second inning, two of which came on a home run by senior Joleen Monfiletto (Everett, Wash.). Leading 7-0 after two innings, the Loggers had to be feeling pretty good about their chances to end their losing streak. But the Bearcats were able to close the gap to 7-5 following a four-run fourth inning, and the Loggers were left to wonder if this would just end up being another loss in the streak where the team blew a late lead. However, the team was able to break the cycle, as senior pitcher Elayna Van Hess (Aumsville, Ore.) stemmed the Bearcats’ momentum, allowing just two hits and no runs the rest of the game. The Loggers’ offense added three runs, and the end result was a 10-5 victory; the team’s first in almost a month and a half.
The Loggers had no time to rest on their laurels, however, as they had to complete the second half of their double-header. This time around, unfortunately, the Loggers’ bats went cold, as they could only muster four hits against Bearcat pitching, falling 4-0. Monfiletto led the team with two hits, both singles.
Fresh off their series split, the Loggers traveled to Pacific University for a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 7. The Loggers’ offensive woes from the previous game continued, and the Loggers were blanked again, losing the first game 4-0. Junior Amy Schmeckpepper (Boise, Idaho) had two of the Loggers’ three hits.
The second game of the doubleheader featured more of the same. The Loggers took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI single from Grouse and a suicide squeeze from Schmeckpepper. The lead did not last, however, as Pacific responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. The Loggers never responded, managing only one more hit en route to 10-2 defeat that was called after five innings.
Though the Loggers lost three of the four games they played over the weekend, they can take pride in the fact that their prolonged losing steak is finally over. Their recent game against Willamette was rained out, but the Loggers will resume their season on Saturday, Apr. 14 against Pacific Lutheran.
PHOTO COURTESY/DAVID PENDLETON