Highlighted by 23 innings of errorless defense, to go along with good pitching, 64 runs and 56 hits, Lower Columbia swept its third weekend in a row going 4-0 vs Clark and Clackamas on March 20-21.
 
The Red Devils have won 12 straight and are now 17-2 overall and 8-0, and in first place in the NWAC South Region.
 
Next up is a trip to Coos Bay on Wednesday (pushed back from the original scheduled time on Tuesday) to meet Southwestern Oregon, ranked first in the latest coach's poll. The Red Devils placed third in the poll. First pitch on Wednesday is at noon.
 
WEEKEND RECAP BY GAME:
 
Friday, Game 1 (Vancouver): Lower Columbia 33, Clark 2 (five innings): The Red Devil bats were electric, pounding 18 singles, two doubles, four triples and a Zoey Hughes first-ever collegiate home run.
 
Gabi Silveria was 5-7 with two triples and six RBI, Elysa Nash was 5-6 with a double and three RBI, Alisyn Parkin 4-5 with a double, triple and five RBI and Ava Eib 4-6 with three RBI. Hughes also tripled to go along with her towering home run and drove in six.
 
Hughes started in the circle and threw three one-hit, shutout innings. Avery Garvey closed out the last two innings.
 
Friday, Game 2 (Vancouver): Lower Columbia 13, Clark 2 (six innings): LCC continued to swing the bat, with a 14-hit attack. The highlight was two, no-doubt line drive home runs by Adna freshmen Kendall Humphrey and Danika Hallom.
 
Hallom was 2-3 with three RBI, while Humphrey was 2-4 with four RBI and a double to go along with her HR. Parkin had three hits, including a double, Garvey had two hits and two RBI. Jaime Haase had a double and two RBI.
 
Cerenity Fake started and got the win with three innings of work, allowing just one hit. Eib threw the final three innings and earned the save by allowing no runs and just one hit with six strikeouts.
 
 Saturday, Game 1 (home): Lower Columbia 9, Clackamas 1 (five innings): The Red Devil defense was sterling out of the gate as 2B Silveria saved a run with a back-handed play on a hot smash, throwing out the runner from her knees. RF Dani Ambriz then saved an extra base hit and Cougars' run when she bellied out to grab a sinking liner to end the inning.
 
Silveria then led off the bottom of the first with her eighth HR of the season to give LCC a lead it would never relinquish. Ambriz later followed with an RBI double, Hallom hit a long sacrifice fly and Humphrey homered in the first inning.
 
That was more than enough support for Hughes as she got the win, allowing just two hits. There was additional defensive support, including Hallom making a leaping catch against the fence in straight-away centerfield and Megan Dille ranging deep in the left-field corner to steal a double.
 
Silveria, who was 2-3 with two RBI, later added another home run – an opposite field smash that landed in the parking lot. Parkin was 2-3 with a solo HR and Ambriz added a triple to go 2-3. Hallom had two sac flies and then her fifth inning RBI single ended the game on the mercy rule.
 
Saturday, Game 2 (home): Lower Columbia 9, Clackamas 3:
Eib, who leads the NWAC in strikeouts, was strong again in the circle and was the beneficiary of more defensive gems. The St. Helens' grad battled out of a rough 4^th inning to go six innings and got the win with eight Ks and just one walk. Hughes came in from the bullpen to close it out in the seventh.
 
Rylee Brown was all over centerfield, including a diving catch of a sinking liner and then a game-ending double play when she ranged into shallow left-center to steal a hit and then double off the runner at first base. Nash made two strong diving plays at second base and Ambriz added another gem in RF.
 
Haase caught the second game and was a rock wall behind the plate, including throwing out three Cougars trying to reach after swinging at strike three in the dirt.
 
Ambriz smoked a three-run home, her first of the season. Eib and Nash each had two hits.
  Read Full Article