LINCOLN, CA – Softball falls short to #19 Eastern Oregon in both games of their doubleheader on Sunday hosted by Jessup University in Lincoln, CA. In the first game they lost 5-2 which featured a late 6th-inning rally to gain 2 runs but the Oaks could not overcome the Mountaineers. And in the second game Menlo stayed strong but a late 3-run homerun by the Mountaineers put them on top, 4-3. 

Game 1: Menlo 2 - 5 Eastern Oregon

The day started off at 10am and the Oaks fell to an early lead to Eastern Oregon and by the 5th inning it had become 5-0. At the bottom of the 6th inning the Oaks got some fire and freshman catcher Emma Wilson (1-3) led the Oaks off with a single to left field. Jada Takara (2-4) followed Wilson with a single to the right center gap to get on base and advance Wilson to second. 

Bella Cortez (1-2) kept it rolling with a single up the middle to have the bases loaded for Grace Christian to make a play. Christian reached on a fielder's choice and Emma Wilson was able to score off of a throwing error by the first baseman to get the Oaks on the board and continue to have the bases loaded for Hailey Roloff. Roloff has an on base percentage of 471 on the season and she proved her patience at the plate once more. She was walked by the Mountaineers pitcher to advance all bases for the Takara run to make it 5-2. Eastern Oregon was able to shut the Oaks down to those 2 runs and end the first game with defeat. 

Game 2: Menlo 3 - 4 Eastern Oregon

The Oaks were able to find some juice in game 2 against Eastern Oregon but a 6th inning 3-run homer from the Mountaineers stole the win. Vivian Valencia went 6.0 IP with 6 strikeouts. In the 2nd inning, Grace Christian had Sofia Quintero on second after being walked and Bella Cortez on first after hitting a single to the left side. Both runners advanced after a wild pitch so Christian had runners in scoring position. She once again makes a play and singles to third base for the RBI to score Sofia Quintero, making it 1-1.    

In the 6th inning Menlo was able to capitalize on Eastern Oregon mistakes to add 2 more runs to the score. Emma Medina was first up to bat and reached first by being walked. Macie Figueroa advanced Emma to third base and reached first on a throwing error by the pitcher. Alexandra Attard put the ball in play and reached on a fielder's choice which resulted in an error by the catcher to score Figueroa and Attard to make it 3-1. In the end the Mountaineers hit a late 6th inning rally to score a 3-run homerun for the win, 4-3. 

Up Next…   

The Oaks next appearance is Friday, February 24th at Westcliff University in Irvine, California for a 1-game matchup starting at 12pm.