Like clockwork, the Clan softball team got right back in to the win column after a disappointing week prior, and leading the charge up the standings was sophomore Sammie Olexa.
The Clan snapped a three-game losing skid by sweeping the Central Washington University Wildcats last weekend. The offence had almost completely dried up for SFU in those three losses against St. Martin’s but it didn’t take long for the bats to heat up. After opening the first game against the Wildcats with a three-run first inning, Olexa drove in three runs and scored another herself in the third to push the lead to 7–0 early on. That was more than enough of a lead for Clan ace Cara Lukawesky to work with, as she pitched another stellar game. She allowed just one hit in five innings, and the Clan kept swinging away and easily won the first game 12–1.
The second matchup wouldn’t come as easily for the Clan. It took Lauren Mew stealing home to get on the board to begin with, but a two-run fifth inning and a Lukawesky save gave the Clan a hard-fought 3–1 victory.
The next two games were just as competitive, and if it weren’t for some late heroics from Olexa, the weekend could’ve taken a much different turn.
In the first of the two, it was the Wildcats getting off to a quick start when Carrina Wagner hit a solo home run to open the scoring. The game stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh and final inning, where it took a dramatic turn. With the Wildcats poised to eke out a narrow 1–0 win, Olexa blasted a two-run walk-off home run to give the Clan the win. As clutch as Olexa was, Lukawesky was impressive once again, allowing just one run on six hits, improving her conference-leading win total to 11 — but there was still one more game to be played.
In the fourth and final game, the Clan found themselves trailing the Wildcats 5–2 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Again, CWU looked poised to take the victory , but again, the Clan clawed back. Clan senior Leah Riske hit a solo home run to cut the deficit to two, before a single from Rosie Murphy drove in Megan Durrant to tie the game and force extra innings. Then, with two runners on base, an ever-clutch Olexa belted another walk-off home run to give the Clan the four-game sweep. The weekend was unquestionably a bright spot on the Clan’s strong season, especially when seen as a rebound from a tough week the week before. That said, above all, Olexa shone the brightest.
She recorded 13 hits and nine RBIs over the series, and won two games for her team. For all her heroics, she was named the GNAC player of the week.
“It’s so exciting,” said Olexa on being named player of the week, but was quick to deflect the praise. “My success is really attributed to the team’s success. If our pitchers didn’t keep us in the game and if hitters hadn’t got on base in front of me, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do what we did.”
What they did was win four straight against a team that was close to them in the standings, and move up to second in the conference. Yes, they did it as a team, but Olexa certainly had a say in
the matter.
