PORTLAND | With dark clouds and rain on the horizon, the Warner Pacific University Softball team (6-31, 4-21) was only able to complete one game this afternoon of their four-game set with the University of Providence Argos (2-31, 1-23), walking off in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn the win.
 
Game two was suspended in the top of the sixth inning due to heavy rainfall, and will continue tomorrow morning at 10:30am PDT with the Argos leading 9-7, and a runner at third base with two outs.
 
Knights' Head Coach Alex Flores shared, "Today's walk-off win was great to see, as the team was challenged early and yet managed to stay loose, and take in these special moments with their senior teammates with some laughs along the way."
 
"Payton, Emma, Paityn, and Alexis were all able to shine in today's win, and their smiles were contagious through the whole squad. We look forward to picking up where we left off today in another challenging situation, attempting to clinch out three more wins," Coach Flores went on to say.
 
Game 1
 
As two teams with nothing to lose coming into this weekend entered the field, both the Knights and Argos knew they would have to fight tooth and nail, inning-by-inning of their first contest together this season in order to earn the win, with five total runs being scored in the first frame alone.
 
Providence jumped out to an early 2-0 lead following a one-run double from first baseman Macy Mangold to left field, and a one-run single to right field from catcher McKenzie Staats that scored Mangold from second base.
 
Warner Pacific responded with some more offensive flare in the bottom of the first, scoring on three separate plays to plate two unearned runs and an earned run by forcing the Argos defense to attempt making adjustments mid at-bat.
 
The Argos reclaimed their original lead the very next opportunity, scoring four more runs of their own in the top of the second on three singles and a double.
 
The Knights were able to load the bases in three different innings in game one, but only managed to plate enough to just tie the ball game or less through the next 5.0 innings of play. One of those runs came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Knights' sophomore shortstop Faith Vadelund poked a single into left field, scoring sophomore rightfielder Christina Barrett from third base.
 
With just one out in the top of the fifth inning, Providence rattled off five straight at-bats that all reached first base, resulting in three more runs and a 9-4 Argos lead with two and a half innings left to play.
 
The bottom of the fifth inning was when the Knights' lineup decided enough was enough, as Warner Pacific utilized another bases loaded opportunity to score five runs from three straight singles, a walk, and a passed ball, batting around the lineup to lock the Argos into a 9-9 contest.
 
Try as they might, the Argos saw their opportunities dwindling into the top of the seventh inning, before leadoff hitter and rightfielder Taylor Mathews tripled to deep right centerfield with only one out, and Providence was now 60 feet away from stealing a road game against Warner Pacific. However, Mathews would go no further than the base she occupied following her own at-bat, as Knights' starting pitcher Abby Carlson induced a strike out and pop-up to leave the inning unscathed, and looking to her own offense to walk-off in style.
 
Three straight singles following an out to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning had Knight fans feeling awfully chipper with the heart of the WPU lineup still to bat, but faltered just like the Argos did in earning that final run, forcing an extra-inning contest at Erv Lind Stadium for the first time this season.
 
It would be the bottom half of the Knights' lineup to seal the victory in game one, as a clean inning of work from Carlson allowed senior second baseman Alexis Morrow another opportunity with every base occupied. This time, she wouldn't leave an opening like this pass by, as she chopped a groundball high over Argos' starting pitcher Carter Thornton's head that ricocheted off her glove, allowing sophomore third baseman Sammie Brauckmiller to score from third base, and giving Warner Pacific the 10-9 walk-off victory.
 
Carlson (4-16) was shaky at times for Warner Pacific today, but came through when it mattered most to earn her fourth win of the season. She allowed nine runs, only five of which were earned, off 15 hits and three walks, striking out two Argos in the process through 8.0 innings.
 
Offensively for WPU, Vadelund collected three hits and two RBIs from the leadoff spot, while Barrett slashed an additional three hits and an RBI, with two runs scored as well. The walk-off winner Morrow was the final Knight to collect a trio of hits, all while earned two RBIs and a run to the final tally.
 
Thornton (1-15) found success against this Warner Pacific lineup through the middle of game one, but was unable to close out the win by allowing 10 runs on 15 hits, two walks and struck out six WPU batters, taking the loss after 7.1 innings of work.
 
Staats powered her way to a 3-for-5 performance at the plate, scoring a run and earning two RBIs along the way. Mathews found herself at the plate with scoring opportunities on multiple occasions, earning two hits and three runs scored with two RBIs.
 
Game 2
 
As clouds loomed in the distance, Coach Flores and Argos' Head Coach Joey Egan wanted to get the show on the road as soon as possible, fearing a potential downpour was on the way. Little did they know, the state of Oregon had a plan of its' own.
 
Providence began game two of the Friday doubleheader much like game one, scoring multiple runs in the first inning to take a commanding lead with them into the bottom of the first inning by scoring three runs, one of which crossed the plate unearned.
 
It took some time in game two for Warner Pacific to respond to the Argos' first inning bats, but a two-run single from sophomore catcher Morgan Docker cut the Providence lead to just a single run entering the fourth inning.
 
The Argos earned a run back in the top of the fourth inning, but a double to right field with two runners aboard from Vadelund knotted this game back up at 4-4.
 
That tie wouldn't stand for long though, as Staats homered two at-bats later to give Providence the 5-4 lead, and thus scoring the 28^th run of the afternoon for either team, with 14 runs coming from each dugout.
 
Yet another lead change was in store in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Warner Pacific knocked in three more runs to flip a one-run deficit into a two-run lead, as the winds started to pick up in the middle of Portland.
 
Before the rain officially began to fall hard enough for a stoppage of play, the Argos scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning, and will look to pick up where they left off tomorrow morning.
 
The Knights and Argos will reconvene tomorrow morning at 10:30am PDT to finish game two of today's doubleheader, and then partake in their Senior Day ceremony before the Saturday doubleheader will commence, with start times currently scheduled at 11am and 1pm PDT, but subject to change.