BURNABY, B.C. – The Simon Fraser softball team dropped a pair of close games Thursday at Western Washington in its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader of the 2023 NCAA season. The Red Leafs (5-15, 0-2 GNAC) lost 4-3 in Game 1 and 6-3 in the finale at Viking Field.

The series was originally scheduled to have doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday but was moved up because of bad weather in the forecast. SFU will contest another two games Saturday morning (11 a.m.) at WWU (10-8, 2-0 GNAC).

GAME 1 – Western Washington 4, Simon Fraser 3
The host Vikings jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning but the Red Leafs rallied back to tie the game, which WWU managed to win with a seventh-inning, walk-off sacrifice fly.

The Vikings took their three-run advantage into the sixth. SFU freshman Amy Hughes (Brampton, Ont.) led off the inning with a bunt single, and then stole second base. She moved to third on a fielder's choice. Junior Megan Duclos (Saint-Eustache, Que.) drew a walk and then stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring position.

After a lineout, freshman Cassidy Affeldt (Mission, B.C.) walked to load the bases with two outs. Sophomore Kristen Davyduke (Saskatoon) came up to the plate and delivered the big blow for SFU, a 2-RBI single to right-center field to score Hughes and Duclos. Sophomore Janique Balcaen (Winnipeg) followed up with a single to left to drive in Affeldt, and tie the game at 3-3.
 

WWU didn't score in its half of the sixth, and neither did the Red Leafs in the seventh.

The Vikings took advantage of their final opportunity to win before extra innings, using a walk and two subsequent singles to load the bases. After a fielder's choice that ended with the lead WWU runner out at home, the Vikings' Brooke Fesenbek hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate the winning run.

Freshman Reese Davies (Surrey, B.C.) pitched the entire game for SFU, giving up four runs in 6.2 innings of work. Mareena Ramirez allowed three runs in seven innings in the circle for the home side.

Balcaen went 2-for-3 at the plate and Duclos was 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, increasing her season total to 26.

GAME 2 – Western Washington 6, Simon Fraser 3
The Vikings scored five times in the fourth inning, which was enough for the victory.

The Red Leafs cut the gap to 5-3 by posting three runs in the fifth. Freshman Rachel Boles (Maple Ridge, B.C.) stole second base, and a throwing error by WWU catcher Rachel Christiansen allowed Hughes to come home from third to get SFU on the scoreboard. Later in the inning, Boles scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-2. That was followed by an Affeldt RBI single up the middle to get the visitors within a couple of runs at 5-3.

However, the Vikings added an insurance run in their half of the fifth to round out the scoring.

Duclos had two hits in four at-bats, and extended her single-season school record total for stolen bases to 27.
 

- with files from Western Washington Athletics

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