Red hot softball Wolves win two more
April 26, 2008
In the super tight Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball race, Western Oregon held serve today with a pair of road wins over Central Washington on Saturday afternoon, 8-1 and 4-2.
The Wolves won their 10th and 11th consecutive games to improve to 15-5 in conference play and to 27-14 overall. Central Washington, who entered the doubleheader just one game back of WOU, dropped to 12-8 in the GNAC and to 17-23 overall.
Western Washington also dropped a doubleheader today (to Montana State Billings) to fall to 10-8 in conference play. Idle Seattle University is 11-5, two full games back of WOU, with a doubleheader on tap against Central Washington on Sunday.
The Wolves bashed out 10 hits in the first game in support of pitching ace Katie Fleer to cruise to the win. Fleer helped her own cause with a two-run double in the first inning, and she went 2-for-3 in the game with three RBI. The visitors scored three runs in that first stanza, before Fleer even entered the pitcher's circle.
WOU added two more runs in the third inning on a two run single by Tyler Sutherland, and tacked on more insurance in the seventh when Kristin Maglasang laced a two-run single.
Sutherland was 4-for-5 in the contest with two runs and two RBI, and Jessica Hallmark added a pair of hits. Meanwhile, Fleer scattered five hits and gave up just one run, walked one and fanned six Wildcats.
Sutherland was 4-for-5 in the contest with two runs and two RBI, and Jessica Hallmark added a pair of hits. Meanwhile, Fleer scattered five hits and gave up just one run, walked one and fanned six Wildcats.
The second game was much different, dripping with drama because of the close score, but also because of an amazing act of sportsmanship.
With the score 0-0 in the top of the second, WOU's Amanda Fleer and Whitney Lee reached base via singles. Senior Sara Tucholsky then ripped a shot over the centerfield fence, for what would be her first career home run.
But Tucholsky hurt her knee as she rounded first base, crumpling to the ground. She crawled back to first base, but was in a state where she obviously could not make it home under her own power, which would take her three-run home run off the books and change it to a two-run single.
But in a totally unexpected and stunning move, two Central Washington players picked Tucholsky up and carried her around the bases until she could touch home plate, giving the Wolves the run and a 3-0 lead.
"There wasn't a dry eye anywhere in the stadium after that," said WOU head coach Pam Knox. "That was one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen in softball, and it says so much about Central Washington and the kids that they have."
The Wildcats scored two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to pull to within one digit of tying the contest, but the Wolves answered with another plate crossing in the fourth inning. Katie Fleer walked, and pinch runner Melissa Powell promptly stole second and third base, and Krystal Pennington followed with a run-scoring single.
CWU put at least one runner on second base in each of the next three innings, but couldn't get a run across. Jessica Wood recorded the win in the pitcher's circle for WOU, with help from Christina Cooke, who got the save. Cooke pitched the final 2.3 innings and did not give up a run.
Maglasang and Hallmark had two hits each in the game for WOU, while Kasey Druffel, Mallory Holtman, Holly Rossman and Logan Mohr had the same for the hosts.
Western Oregon now heads into its final week of the regular season, hosting Seattle on Thursday and Friday, and Western Washington visits on Saturday.
WOU Athletics Western Oregon University345 N. Monmouth Ave., Monmouth, OR 97361
Side Note: The senior they carried around the bases is a former FGHS Grad class of 2004! Great perseverance, if you gotta go out your senior year what a way to go. Go Wolves!
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