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Nampa, ID - The Simon Fraser University Clan softball team earned a split in their four game series against the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders, sweeping their Saturday double header with a 3-2 victory in nine innings in game one and an 8-5 win in game two.
"It's good to get the monkey off our backs and get a couple in the win column," said Head Coach Mike Renney. "We earned a hard fought win in extra innings in the first game and it was good to get some run support for our pitching in the second game coupled with a good pitching performance from Mackenzie Bender."
Jessica Goulet (Cambridge, ON) went the distance in game one, pitching all nine innings, scattering six hits and two runs, only one of which was earned, while striking out nine.
Danielle Raison (Langley, BC) went three for four with a run scored while Rachel Proctor (Surrey, BC) went two for three with two runs scored and Alex Baylak (Regina, SK) went two for four with two runs batted in.
Northwest Nazarene jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning before the Clan tied it up in the fourth when Proctor reached on an infield single and came around to score from second on a Baylak single up the middle.
In the fifth NNU scored again to inch ahead 2-1 but SFU tied it in the sixth and Goulet held the Crusaders scoreless the rest of the way to send the game into extra innings.
After a scoreless eighth inning, the Clan took the lead in the ninth when Raison hit a one out double down the left field line. She advanced to third on a Kaitlyn Cameron (Langley, BC) single and scored on a fielder's choice to make it 3-2 Clan.
Goulet took care of business in the bottom of the ninth, retiring the Crusaders in order to seal the Clan's first win of 2014.
"It was an outstanding performance from Goulet in the first game and (Kaitlyn) Cameron called two great games today. We got some timely hits and some clutch at bats. We got some runs when we needed to. We had some situations where the wheels could have come off but they didn't. We bent but we didn't break. We squandered some chances but we got ourselves out of some jams too," said Renney.
In the second game SFU got five strong innings from Mackenzie Bender (St. Albert, AB) who earned the win allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits while Goulet pitched two innings of relief allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits.
Three Clan players recorded multi-hit games as Cameron, Bender and Proctor all went two for four with a run score while Bender had two runs batted in and Proctor knocked in one.
Raison, Baylak, Stefanie Sheard (Winninpeg, MB) and Kendra Goodman (Surrey, BC) also recorded RBI's in the game for SFU.
The Clan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, a rally that started with a leadoff double from Kaitlyn Cameron. She advanced to third on a Bender singled and scored on a Proctor double to left field to make it 1-0 SFU.
Bender scored to make it 2-0 on a single from Baylak and Proctor scored to make it 3-0 on a Sheard ground out.
NNU got on the board in the fourth with a single run to make it 3-1 but in the top of the fifth, SFU expanded their lead to four runs, pushing the score to 5-1.
Robyn Mogavero (Whitby, ON) led off the inning with a single through the left side and advanced to third on a one out double from Raison.
With two outs, Bender doubled to score Mogavero and Raison.
Both teams put three runs on the board in the sixth and NNU pushed one across in the seventh but with two runners on and two out, Goulet was able to induce a Megan Lounsbury ground out to end the game and give the Clan the sweep.
The Clan will be back on the field in non-conference action on Tuesday against their cross town rivals, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, in a single game beginning at 7:00 p.m.
"Overall it was a good trip to Idaho and it was good to get a couple in the win column. We're pleased with the success today but it doesn't get any easier from here as we have some tough opponents coming up," finished Renney.
