Friday, April 29, 2016

LACEY, Wash. – Led by another outstanding performance from starting pitcher Alyson Boytz and some timely hitting, Western Oregon defeated Saint Martin’s 4-0 to advance to the championship round of the GNAC Softball Championships Friday at the Saint Martin's Softball Field.

Boytz kept her defense active, inducing 16 ground ball outs on her way to a complete game shutout victory. She allowed just two hits, pitching her second straight complete game in the tournament. Boytz advanced her record to 13-7 on the season and has pitched all 14 innings for Western Oregon in the tournament, with one run and six hits allowed.

Third baseman Destiny Kuehl finished 2 for 3 at the dish, hitting a RBI double in the third inning and a solo home run in the fifth inning. She was also a part of Western Oregon’s strong infield defense that combined for 17 putouts without an error.

First baseman Ashlee Lynch opened the scoring in the second inning with a solo home run to left field. Second baseman Kelsie Gardner went 2 for 3 at the plate with a double, run and RBI. The Wolves’ bats came through late in innings, scoring all four runs with two outs.

Kim Nelson drew her second straight start in the circle for Saint Martin’s after a shutout on Thursday. She threw three innings, allowing three earned runs and had the Saints’ first hit as a batter in the fourth inning. Loryn Williams threw three innings in relief, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

Western Oregon advances to the championship round on Saturday and await the winner of today’s final game. Saint Martin’s will play at 3 p.m. against the winner of Central Washington and Concordia in an elimination contest.