FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 15th, 2025
Milwaukie, Ore.| The Knights Softball Program played well today splitting both games against the University of Providence in a wet Portland day.
The Knights won game one 12-10 and lost game two 5-3 in two very different games.
Game One
Both teams in game one had to deal with the conditions early as God decided to let it pour the first couple innings. The Argos scored four runs in the top of the first inning on no base hits. The Argos were aided by three wild pitches, a passed ball, and four walks. The Knights had their turn to be at a weather advantage in their half of the first when they scored six of their own. Nikki O'Reilly, Briana Munoz, and Noe Barawis picked up RBI's in the frame.
The rain continued through the away half of the second inning helping the Argos to tack on another run pulling within a run of the Knights. The rain then petered off in the bottom of the inning and held off for the rest of the day.
The Knights going into the bottom half of the sixth inning were down 11-8 and needed a rally to get back into the game and rally they did. It all started with a Kili Makanani double down the left field line who then scored when the next batter, Maddie Gamble, singled to center. Ferguson continued her hot hitting with an infield single which allowed Taylor Groza to score on an error. Ferguson then later scored on a sacrifice fly to center field hit by O'Reilly Groza pinch-ran for Gamble. After Briana Munoz drew a walk, Skylar Groesbeck came in to pinch-run for her and ended up scoring due to an error by the Argos' second baseman. All this action resulted in the Knights taking a 12-11 lead.
Kili Makanani picks up the win which is her first of the year moving to 1-5. Nia Tate picked up the save which is her first of the year.
Game Two
The Knights in game two saw their bats cool off a bit as they were held to just three runs on six base hits. The Knights went down quickly in the first inning when Sydney Weber of the Argos grounded out to third platting a run. The Argos would then score three more runs in the third inning before the Knights finally broke through in the fourth.
In the fourth inning, Maddie Gamble doubled down the left field line plating both Makanani and Groza who both got on base earlier in the inning with hits. Then, Nikki O'Reilly hit a sharp single to right field, scoring Megan Fritz.
The final run of the game for the Knights came in the fifth inning when Noe Barawis put the game in motion, stealing third. The Argos catcher threw the ball to third to try and get her out but nobody was at third to receive the ball so the ball flowed into left field allowing Barawis to scamper home. Briana Munoz was on the mound for the Knights and she took the loss moving to 2-8 on the season.
The Knights took two out of three from the Argos winning their first series of the season. The Knights move to 4-15 on the year and 3-5 in conference play.
Next Up
The Knights will be back at it early next week when they play a two-game non-conference series against the NCAA Division II Western Oregon University Wolves out of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Those games will be on Tuesday March 18th at 1pm and 3pm.
