On a brisk Thursday evening at SFU’s Beedie Field, the Clan women’s softball team won back-to-back games over Northwest Nazarene Crusaders in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader — a first for the team this season.
The Clan got a rather slow start in game one, as the Crusaders built a 6–1 lead after four innings of play. SFU held strong until the bottom of the fifth inning, where they pressured their opponents into a calamitous series of errors and notched a staggering 11 runs.
Freshman pitcher Alia Stachoski maintained her strong throws to prevent the Crusaders from changing the scoreboard and secured the comeback victory. A stunning double play from third baseman Stefanie Sheard at the top of the seventh was enough to seal the deal, as the Clan won the first game 13–6.
With momentum in their way and a boisterous crowd behind them, the Clan went on to take game two. Junior Jessica Goulet took over the mound and threw five strikeouts in the rematch.
The Crusaders did not back down, and stole home base in the fourth inning to push ahead of the home side by a single point. But sophomore Robyn Mogavero made a strong response and smacked a long drive out to centre field in the bottom of the inning to help junior Nicole Ratel score her run and draw the scores even.
Crusader batter Whitney Carlton smashed a home run to damper the mood and put the away side ahead again in the fifth inning. After loading bases up, SFU quickly regained composure, going two points further thanks to standout batter Alex Baylak. The Regina native notched her fourth run, batted in at the crucial moment to help Mogavero hit a run home.
At one out away from taking the win, the Clan conceded a two-run single by Crusader batter Kendra Day. But the short-lived comeback was vanquished by an even more defiant Clan side, as Danielle Raison scored the valuable game-winning point with bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to finish 6–5.
“I’m proud that we worked hard to the end to get the win. I think that shows really what we can do and how we battle right to the end,” said Raison after the victories. “Of course we still have things to work on, but it’s a nice feeling to see it all come together.”
