The Simon Fraser softball team hosted Western Washington University last weekend in an offensive-laden doubleheader that saw the visiting Vikings take both matches. The teams combined for 35 runs over the two games, but the Clan scored only 11 as the Vikings ran away with both contests.
In the first contest, WWU jumped out to a 6–2 lead; the Clan mounted a minor comeback, pulling within one in the bottom of the fourth, but it was never really close. The Vikings scored two in the fifth, two in the sixth and four in the seventh to blow the out Clan 14–7.
“The fans got their money’s worth in the first game,” said head coach Mike Renney. “It was a slugfest but we made too many errors against a good team and Western Washington is on a roll right now. They’re arguably one of the top teams in our conference so full credit to them.”
The Vikings currently sit third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a 9–5 conference record, well ahead of the last-placed Clan, who are now 2–12 in GNAC play after the two losses. The disparity between the two clubs was just as evident in the second match.
Western Washington steadily built up a 4–0 lead into the fifth before SFU brought any runners home. Up 4–2 after five, the Vikings blew the doors open in the sixth and seventh, taking a stranglehold on the game with a 10–2 lead. SFU would add two in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Clan fell 10–4.
It didn’t help that the Clan lost one of their key athletes in the first game. Junior shortstop Danielle Raison left the game, suffering an apparent knee injury while running the bases.
“It was really tough to have to re-group after losing our starting shortstop and our top hitter right now to a serious knee injury that will be diagnosed in the coming days,” said Renney. “I think our athletes did as well as you could hope to bounce back from that but I’m sure it was an underlying factor today.”
Renney added, “We’ll get back on the practice field on Monday and get to work on the long list of areas we identified over the course of this doubleheader that we need to work on and that will only make us better in time, but time is running out on this year.”
The Clan are only about halfway through their season, but after losing Raison and currently being planted firmly at the bottom of the GNAC, 2014 is looking like a lost year. At the very least, it’s a season on which to improve.
