GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence dropped two home games to Corban University on Friday in Great Falls. The Argos (2-12, 2-9) lost to the Warriors (14-10, 9-2) 8-5 the first game and 2-7 in the second.
Though the Argos didn't come away with a victory, the team showed noticeable improvement from earlier in the season, eliminating errors and displaying more on-field chemistry. The Argos outhit the Warriors in the first game, and matched their production in the second game. Unfortunately the Argos left 10 batters on base during the second game.
"We had so many runners on base," head coach
Joey Egan said. "We just didn't produce the runs. It was very encouraging to see the improvement. I felt like we had all the tools put out there and we just didn't finish it by putting runs across the plate."
In the first game the Argos outhit the Warriors nine to eight. The two teams went back and forth trading the lead until the fourth inning, when the Warrior's Makiah Johnson homered on a 2-0 count, scoring three runs to bring the lead to 5-3.
After the Warriors scored two more runs in the fifth inning,
McKenzie Staats homered in the sixth inning, driving one runner home to cut the lead to 8-5. Neither team would score the remainder of the game.
"Staats had a big home run for us," Egan said. "She had great plate approaches all night. She was so solid behind the plate too. Catchers never get the credit. She's a phenomenal piece of the puzzle and gets our pitchers lots of strikes."
KJ Schweikert started in the circle for Argos. The righthander went four innings, allowing five runs on six hits and striking out two. Mckenna Montgomery threw three innings out of the bullpen.
Ashlee Anderson,
Jaelena Trujillo, and Peyton Elliot all managed multiple hits for the Argos in the first game. Anderson went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the team in hits.
Corban got things rolling early in the second game, scoring three runs in the first inning. The Argos responded well by getting the bases loaded in the first inning, but couldn't bring a runner home. The Warriors scored three more in the third inning, and the Argos responded by putting runners on base, but failed to bring them home. In total, the Argos left 10 runners on the bases in the second game.
Brie Clifford started the second game for the Argos. The righty surrendered six runs on six hits and struck out one batter.
Khalyn Hageness threw four innings out of the bullpen.
Taylor Mathews led the Argos with two hits in three at bats.
While the chances were there, the coaching staff knows the team still has to put a complete game together. They are pleased with the improvements and believe their team is due for a win.
"We were playing to win today," Egan said. "We weren't afraid and we weren't playing timid. That was a big deal today. We need to really focus on our plate approach tomorrow. The pitchers were really dominating. If we could not let as many strikes go by and attack early in the counts, we'll be good."
The Argos will get another two chances at the Warriors tomorrow. They'll play their first game at 11:00 a.m., with the second taking place at 1:00 p.m.
