Saints gear up for “Sophomore” day tomorrow

Seeing the Saints softball team lose this season has become a rare occurrence. That trend continued this past week.

The softball team picked up four wins and no losses, two on the field and two by forfeit. The Saints are now 31-4 overall and 11-3 in the Southern Region, one game above Clackamas Community College for first place in the region.

“The team is playing well but we have three big doubleheaders left in our schedule. We need to remained focused and control what we can control,” said head coach Meadow McWhorter.

Last week, freshman pitcher Kristen Crawford was awarded player of the week honors in the Southern Region by NWAACC. Crawford is 12-0 on the season with a 2.20 ERA, and in 85 innings has 69 strikeouts, allowed 27 earned runs and thrown eight complete games.

“Kristen is a fighter on the mound. I am so impressed with her maturity, demeanor and heart. She has been very impressive as a freshman in the circle. I couldn’t be prouder,” said McWhorter.

On Wednesday, two wins were handed to MHCC as Clark Community College forfeited due to injuries. Clark has had their struggles this season and their record shows it:  2-22 overall and 0-15 in conference play.

Last Saturday, the Saints earned two wins against Southwestern Community College defeating them 4-1 in game one and 7-5 in game two.

The opener was a scare for the Saints as the game went into extra innings. The Saints scored one run in the bottom of the sixth off an error but SWOCC answered with a run in the top of the seventh to tie the game. In the bottom of the eighth, freshman first baseman Jamie Martin hit a walk-off, three-run homerun to end the game.

Freshman pitcher Ann-Marie Guischer earned the game one win — and then she got another win in game two as she only gave up one hit through six innings and struck out 11 Lakers. MHCC took control of the game after scoring five runs in the bottom of the fourth.  The Saints kept the lead from then on and ended with the 7-5 victory.

“We need to continue to work executing our bunt game, timely hitting and being aggressive on defense. Our pitchers need to continue to work on getting ahead in the count,” said McWhorter.

On Saturday, the team hosts Chemeketa Community College. The doubleheader begins at noon. This will be the team’s last home games of the season and is also “Sophomore Day.”

“We split the doubleheader at Chemeketa earlier in the season. They are a strong opponent. There is no such thing as an underdog in the Southern Region. We will work to come out strong in the first game and play for our sophomores,” said McWhorter.

She also expressed her gratitude to all the fans who have showed support since the first day of the season.

“We are blessed to have such incredible and supportive fans. It is sad that our home schedule is coming to an end,” said McWhorter.