TACOMA, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College softball rallied from a 4-1 deficit in game two to force extra innings, but host Pacific Lutheran University escaped with a 7-6 nine-inning win to earn a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday afternoon. 

THE BASICS
 
Pacific Lutheran 4, Lewis & Clark 1
Pacific Lutheran 7, Lewis & Clark 6 (9 Innings) 
(Lewis & Clark 9-9, Northwest Conference 4-2)
(Pacific Lutheran 14-4, NWC 6-0) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Senior Paola Garcia hit three home runs and Lutes pitching held Lewis & Clark to just two runs through the opening 11 innings of the NWC doubleheader. Lewis & Clark responded with five runs over their next three at-bats to briefly take the lead (6-5), but the hosts answered with one run in the bottom of the seventh and the game-winning run in the ninth. 
 
Junior Ryan Jurischk came up huge in relief for Lewis & Clark. Jurischk threw in both games and went 9.0 innings on the day. She allowed nine hits, seven walks and three runs (two earned) and struck out two on the day. 
 
Seniors Emily Patton and Madison Scroggins each posted a team-high three hits for Lewis & Clark. Patton added three runs and an RBI and Scroggins chipped in a run scored. 
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Garcia hit a home run early to grab the lead and Lutes starter Maiya Anderson held Lewis & Clark to two hits, one walk and one run over seven innings. 
 
First year Kodie Ancheta and Patton posted the only hits of the game for Lewis & Clark. Patton posted the team's first hit of the game in the fourth inning and came in to score on Ancheta' RBI double. Patton also worked the team's lone walk of the contest. 
 
Senior Maggie O'Leary earned the start in the circle and went 3.2 innings and allowed four hits, three walks and four runs (two earned). She posted four strikeouts. Jurischk pitched the final 2.1 innings and held the hosts to one walk, while striking out one. 
 
The contest was a pitcher's duel early with each team managing one hit through the first two frames. O'Leary struck out the first four batters she faced and retired the five first Lutes of the game. 
 
In the bottom of the third, Kaya Collado singled with one out and Garcia followed with a two-run homer to make it 2-0. 
 
Lewis & Clark immediately responded with their lone run. In the top of the fourth, Patton reached on an infield single and raced all the way home on Ancheta's RBI double. 
 
The hosts added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Pacific Lutheran used a hit, three walks, a wild pitch and a pair of River Otter errors to scratch across two runs. 
 
Anderson retired the final 11 batters she faced to close out the 4-1 win. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark found a rhythm offensively late, but Pacific Lutheran completed the sweep with a single run in the seventh and ninth frames.
 
Scroggins finished 3-4 with a run scored to pace the offense. Patton tacked on two hits, two runs, an RBI and a double. Fellow senior Gina Ozuna finished 2-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk. 
 
Jurischk threw the final 6.2 innings in the contest. She scattered nine hits, six walks and three runs (two earned) in the longest outing of her collegiate career. First year Sammy Santa Ana started the contest and allowed one hit, three walks and two runs over 2.0 innings. Santa Ana tacked on two strikeouts.
 
Just as she did in the first game, Garcia opened the scoring with a two-run homer to make it 2-0 PLU after one. 
 
Lewis & Clark cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third. Senior McKenna Zehnder opened the frame with a walk, moved to second on a Tallulah Sickels sac bunt and took third on a Scroggins bunt single. Ozuna made it 2-1 when she laced an RBI single to right to score Zehnder. 
 
The Lutes found an immediate response. Garcia opened the bottom of the inning with a solo home run and Emelia Maza posted an RBI double to right to make it 4-1. With a runner on second and no outs, Jurischk came on in relief and retired three of the next four batters to strand the runner at third base. 
 
Lewis & Clark cut the deficit to 4-2 in the fifth. With one out, Sickels worked a walk and then stole second and third base. After an Ozuna walk with two down, Sickels raced home on a wild pitch.
 
Pacific Lutheran added a run of their own in the fifth. Zoe Smithson led off with a single, stole second, took third on a sac bunt and raced home on a Mya Grado sacrifice fly. 
 
With their backs against the wall, Lewis & Clark scored runs in each of their final two at-bats. In the sixth, Patton led off with a single and raced all the way home on a Harper Campanella RBI single to the wall in right field. 
 
The River Otters tied the game in the top of the seventh. Scroggins and Ozuna led off with back-to-back singles to start the inning. First year Kara Kahahawai came on to pinch hit and executed a sac bunt to move both runners up 60 feet. Patton made it 5-4 with an RBI double to center field to score Scroggins. Ancheta followed with a ground ball to third base, the third baseman threw the ball over the first baseman's head and Ozuna and Patton both raced all the way home to make it 6-5 Lewis & Clark. 
 
Pacific Lutheran extended the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh. The first two batters of the inning reached on a single and a walk and the Lutes put down a sac bunt to move both runners up. Collado followed with an RBI single but center fielder Lacey Marglin came through with a perfect throw home to help retire the trail runner in a pickel. With runners at first and second with two outs, Kamalani Doctor laced a single to right but first year Cici Fortuno made a strong throw from right field to retire the runner trying to score from second. 
 
Lewis & Clark would put runners on in each of the next two innings, but couldn't come through with the go-ahead hit. 
 
PLU put the game-winning run on third in the eighth inning but Jurischk induced a fly out to center to send the game to the ninth. 
 
In the ninth, the hosts used a two-out rally to win the game. With two outs and no one on, Collado singled and Garcia and Doctor followed with back-to-back walks. Collado raced home when the ball skipped away on a pitch for the winning run. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Patton reached 150 career hits in game one. The senior shortstop sits fourth in program history with 152 career hits and needs just three hits to pass Hannah Dal Pra ('16) for third place. 
• O'Leary became the first pitcher in program history to go over 300 strikeouts in game one. She struck out the side in the first inning to reach 300 career strikeouts and added one more strikeout by striking out the first batter in the second. 
• Patton also moved into the top-10 in program history in career runs scored, games played and games started on Wednesday. With her three runs scored, she moved into eighth all-time with 69 runs scored. She also moved into a tie for eighth place in career starts (143) and 10^th place with 143 games played. 
• Jurischk threw a career-high 6.2 innings in game two. She had never throw more than five innings in a collegiate contest before Wednesday. 
• Sickels posted the first two stolen bases of her career in game two.  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will look to respond on Thursday, when they take on the Lutes at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Tacoma.