LACEY, Wash. –
Brandi Schoessler attacked the strike zone, coming in and throwing 55 strikes out of her 62 pitches. Schoessler threw 4.2 innings of shutout ball to help the Saints rebound from a 10-5 loss to Northwest in game one, to beating NU 8-1 in the second bill of a doubleheader.
Saint Martin's jumped on the Eagles in the first two innings of both games, scoring a total of 10 runs in the opening frames. However, Northwest powered back in the first game from a 4-0 deficit with three two-run home runs to complete a 10-1 run and surprise the Saints. Saint Martin's did not let lighting strike twice, as the Saints defended their 6-0 lead in the second game. Seven of the Saints' eight runs came on singles in the second tilt, and Schoessler picked up her eighth win of the season.
Nicki DeHan delivered in the first inning of the first game, scoring
Emery Norwood on a groundball fielder's choice.
Sabrina Hicks added another run in the inning on her single through the right side.
DeHan came through in the clutch in the second inning as well, this time scoring two on a single through the right side as well. In the third inning, Northwest gained their first lead of the game on a five run frame, highlighted by a two-run home run to right field.
The damage continued in the fourth with one run, and then another two-run home run in the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 8-4.
Emily Thornton drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, but it was the only run the Saints could manage with the bases full. Northwest iced the game with another two-run shot in the seventh to take the first game 10-5.
The Eagles scored in the first frame of the second game, but the Saints shut them out after that point. The offense tied the game in the bottom half of the inning when
Alyssa French singled to score
Lauren Diuco. Kylie Vanderbout gave SMU the lead later in the inning on a RBI single.
Trinity Favela, Hicks and French all added to the lead in the second inning, as SMU scored three more runs to take a 6-1 lead. The final dagger came in the fifth when Hicks singled up the middle, scoring two runs and the Saints coasted to the 8-1 win on the arm of Schoessler.
Saint Martin's returns to GNAC action this weekend, traveling to Simon Fraser on Saturday before heading to Western Washington on Sunday. Live stats and video of the games will be available on smusaints.com.
