The Loggers faced Pacific University in their second doubleheader series of the year. In the previous series, the Loggers split with the Boxers. This time around however, luck was not on the Logger’s side on Saturday.
In the first game, the Loggers and Boxers got off to an even start, each scoring one run. The Boxers, however, were not to be held off for long. In the second inning, they jumped ahead 4-1 with a three run homerun. The Boxers continued to tack on runs until they ended the game with an eight run mercy rule in the fifth inning.
The second game was a pitching battle. Senior Auriel Sperburg (Spanaway, Wash.) pitched five scoreless innings for the Loggers. Up until the sixth inning, Sperberg had seven strikeouts in the circle with only two hits. The defense, however, was unable to hold up against an explosion of offense by the Boxers, who scored eight runs off six hits to win the game.
Senior Christina Demuelenare (Lake Stevens, Wash.) had a breakout game against Pacific. She scored all three of the runs of the day and had five hits.
“It’s definitely frustrating losing to a team you know you were neck and neck with going all the way to the end of the game 0-0. And with our ‘end of the game power,’ it’s too bad it just didn’t come sooner,” Demuelenare said.
The Northwest Conference boasts a tough schedule for the Loggers, including the number one ranked team in the nation, the Linfield Wildcats. In a triple header against Linfield, the Loggers may have lost three times but walked away knowing the losses did not go unearned.0
In game one, Linfield steadily tacked on runs throughout the game, but the Loggers did push one run across the plate when junior Aryn Grause (Corvallis, Ore.) drove in senior Carolyn Moore (Seattle, Wash.). The result was a 6-1 loss.
In game two the Loggers came out hungry for an upset. Once again Sperberg was on her pitching game. She made the best hitters in the nation as frustrated as they could be, tailing five strikeouts, no walks and only four hits. Besides a homer in the third inning, Sperberg, along with the Logger defense, allowed no Wildcat base-runner past second base.
“I knew if I were to throw well it would keep our team in the game. I wanted to give us a chance and show both Pacific and Linfield that we can compete with them on any given day regardless of what our record reflects,” Sperberg said.
The Loggers had an advantage in game three as the game was a rainout makeup, but the Wildcats’ legendary offense came alive in the final game scoring enough to end the game in the fifth inning by run rule.
““I am proud of my performance against Linfield, mostly because of the fact that I was able to bounce back from Saturday’s loss. Saturday against Pacific was very disappointing and quite draining and I am very proud at how our team came back and fought against Linfield on Sunday. I do not doubt our team’s heart or effort, it has always been there. After this weekend though I do feel as though there is a higher awareness that we are more than capable of competing with any of the top teams,” Sperberg said.