HELENA, MONT. | Warner Pacific softball nailed down some much needed conference wins on Friday afternoon against Carroll College. The Knights took the Saints to nine innings to for the 2-1 victory in game one, followed by a 6-4 victory in game two. Warner Pac moves to 11-14 (5-9 CCC).

"I thought we had a really great effort today, and turned in two gutsy performances" said Knights head coach Nathan Ohta. "Their pitcher came out throwing really well in game one, but we battled and made some really good adjustments at the plate. All day long, the girls just flat out competed offensively, defensively and in the circle" the second year coach said. "We had some key moments for sure, but I'm proud of the mental toughness we showed as a team, and how we just kept fighting to grind out these two big wins" he added.

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The Rundown
In a game with 256 combined pitches thrown between the two pitchers, the Warner Pacific Knights took the Carroll College Saints to nine innings. The Knights pulled out the 2-1 victory with the help of a fifth inning Devinne Amesquita Homerun and a Jamie Carlson walk-off single.
 
Freshman pitcher Melia Croydon came up big for the Knights on the day getting the win in game one with seven strikeouts, and the save in game two, ending with an emphatic strikeout looking. The right-hander from Milwuakie, Oregon moves to 6-7 on the season.
 
After a gritty game one victory, the Knights took the mound for game two, hoping for an easier yet similar result. Warner Pacific gave up two runs in the first inning, chasing the lead for the remainder of the game.
 
The first run of the game for Warner Pac came off the bat of Payton Hergert, who hit her second full-count home run this season.
 
Heading into the fourth inning, the Knights trailed by two. With two batters on base and two outs, Coach Ohta used one of his strategic substitutes, putting heavy-hitter senior catcher, Katie Gleasman in to pinch hit. The senior from Washington did her job hitting a double and bringing in two runs.
 
Carroll's next at-bat brought in their final run of the night. After five innings, the Knights trailed 3-4.
 
Chasing the lead for the entirety of the game, Warner Pacific made some crucial at-plate adjustments, managing to read the Carroll pitches well and scoring three runs over the next two innings while handling their business on defense, holding the Saints scoreless for innings 5-7 to complete the come-from-behind victory.
 
Devinne Amesquita and Payton Hergert led the Knights with hits on the day with three each, and each with a homer; Amesquita with her second of the season and Hergert with her sixth.
Katie Gleasman knocked in two RBI's for Warner Pac.
 
Deeper Look
Hergert's homer and three hits brings her to an .349 batting average and .590 slugging percentage, the junior from Pendleton leads the team in both categories
Macy Besuyen continues her stolen base tendency, moving to 16 successes on 18 attempts
 
Flash Forward
The Knights close out the four-game series with the Saints on Friday with two games scheduled for 11am and 1pm (MDT).