BURNABY, B.C. – What a homecoming for Simon Fraser softball.

In its first games at Beedie Field since March 8, 2020, the team hit four home runs en route to a Saturday sweep of Western Oregon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader. SFU (7-6, 2-0 GNAC) won the opener 5-3 before taking Game 2 9-7 in eight innings over the Wolves (13-10, 0-2 GNAC).

"I think we put on a show especially in that second game so I'm pretty excited about it," said SFU head coach Tina Andreana on welcoming back softball fans to SFU after two years. "It was tough falling behind in the second game, but the players handled it well. It was a good team win all around. Shaneika (Hollingworth) did a really great job coming in as a pitcher in a tough spot and she excelled in shutting Western Oregon down.

"In the first game, Anissa (Zacharczuk) did a good job managing their offence and keeping them low. We scored in some pretty opportune moments."

SFU has now won four of its last five games.

GAME 1 | Simon Fraser 5, Western Oregon 3
With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning, junior Hanna Finkelstein hit a two-run home run over the center-field fence to give SFU the win.
 
Pitcher Anissa Zacharczuk threw a complete game to improve to 5-3. The sophomore gave up just three runs and recorded four strikeouts.

WOU opened the scoring in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs.

SFU took the lead after plating three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Finkelstein scored on a passed ball to get the home side on the scoreboard. Freshman Janique Balcaen then came across on an error. Two batters later, freshman Caitlin Zagari doubled to right field to put SFU in front 3-2.

The Wolves tied the contest at 3-3 in the fifth. When SFU came to bat in the home half of the inning, junior Alex Ogg got on board with a one-out single to bring up Finkelstein, who drove in the eventual winning runs after Ogg stole second.

Finkelstein recorded two hits in Game 1 along with two runs scored, and two runs batted in. Zagari also had two hits to lead SFU.
 

GAME 2 | Simon Fraser 9, Western Oregon 7 (8 innings)
SFU's Game 2 triumph was even more exhilarating, as the team came back from being down 7-4 in the seventh inning.

On the second pitch of the seventh, Balcaen hit a home run to left center to make it 7-5. It was her second of the season.

After an SFU strikeout, sophomore Rebecca Kirkpatrick got on base with a walk. The next batter, Zagari, tied the game at 7-7 by knocking a ball over the fence in left center field.

Finkelstein doubled to center field to start the eighth for SFU. Then junior Chelsea Hotner completed the sweep by hammering a pitch to right center for the dramatic walk-off hit. It was her first home run of the campaign.

Game 2 began with each team scoring three times in the first inning. With her team down 3-0, Hotner drove in the hosts' first run with an RBI double. She later scored herself on a passed ball. Balcaen did the same on another passed ball.
 

WOU answered by scoring four runs in the second but was shut down the rest of the way by SFU pitcher Shaneika Hollingworth. The freshman threw six shutout innings after entering the contest in the third. She earned her first career victory with the performance.

SFU posted a run in the third on a Kirkpatrick RBI to inch closer.

Balcaen went 3-for-3 hitting and scored three runs. Hotner drove in three runs, while Zagari had two runs batted in.

The teams will play another doubleheader Sunday at noon on Beedie Field.

For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit https://athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.

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