BURNABY, B.C. – Sophomore outfielder Janique Balcaen (Winnipeg) had five hits in Simon Fraser's Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball doubleheader at Western Oregon, but the Red Leafs (6-20, 1-7 GNAC) lost 6-4 and 10-0 Saturday in Monmouth, Oregon.
 
GAME 1 – Western Oregon 6, Simon Fraser 4
SFU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning thanks to a pair of two-out runs. Junior outfielder Megan Duclos (Saint-Eustache, Que.) led off the game with a walk. After a Red Leafs foul out and strikeout, Duclos got to second with her 30th stolen base of the season. She scored on the ensuing play, when the next batter Kristen Davyduke, a sophomore infielder from Saskatoon, drove an RBI single up the middle, and then moved to second. Balcaen then singled to third base to score Davyduke, and put SFU up 2-0.
 
The host Wolves (13-14, 5-1 GNAC) answered with five runs over the next two innings. The big blow came via a Katelyn McGough three-run home run in the second inning to break a 2-2 tie. Natalie Willoughby put WOU in front 6-2 with a solo home run in the fourth.
 
The Red Leafs loaded the bases by getting their first three batters of the sixth inning – Balcaen, shortstop Amy Hughes (Brampton, Ont.), and sophomore infielder Caitlin Zagari (Winnipeg) – on base. Balcaen scored on a fielder's choice by rookie catcher Rachel Boles (Maple Ridge, B.C.).
 

SFU cut its deficit to 6-4 with one out as Hughes came home on freshman infielder Laura Winters' (Brooklin, Ont.) fielder's choice. However, pitcher Maddie Mayer of the Wolves induced two groundouts to end the inning. The Red Leafs got a runner on base in the seventh but couldn't convert that into a run.
 
Balcaen had four hits in four at-bats to lead SFU, while Davyduke went 2-for-4. Hughes drew two walks.
 
Maddie Doig was 2-for-3 at the plate for the hosts, who got three runs batted in from McGough.
 
Sophomore Shaneika Hollingworth (Maple Ridge, B.C.) of the Red Leafs pitched 4.1 innings of relief and gave up just one run.
 

 
GAME 2 – Western Oregon 10, Simon Fraser 0 (5 innings)
Duclos had a pair of hits in three at-bats, and Hughes earned two walks for the second consecutive game.
 
Balcaen, Boles and Davyduke had the other SFU hits.
 
The Wolves scored seven runs on six hits in the second inning. Maddie Brandner drove in the first two runs with a bases-loaded double down the left-field line.
 
WOU added another three runs on a half-dozen hits in the fourth. The Wolves maintained their shutout by escaping the fifth despite the Red Leafs loading the bases with two outs thanks to Duclos and Balcaen singles and a Hughes walk.
 
WOU catcher Natalie Willoughby went 3-for-3 batting.

After 26 games away from home, SFU will host its first games of the 2023 NCAA softball season next weekend. The Red Leafs will play 12 noon doubleheaders against Northwest Nazarene Friday and Saturday at Beedie Field.
 
ONLINE TICKET PURCHASE LINKS:
Season tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-softball-season-pass-2023-tickets-528774808687
March 24: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-softball-vs-northwest-nazarene-university-double-header-tickets-528758820867
March 25: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-softball-vs-northwest-nazarene-university-double-header-tickets-528761378517

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