Game 1 - Pioneers 7... Roosevelt JV 6
The MCC Pioneers scored 3 runs in the 6th inning to take a 7-3 lead and then held on as Roosevelt JV added 3 in the bottom of the 7th to cut the lead to one in a back and forth affair as the Pioneers escaped with a 7-6 win.
Roosevelt got things started with a run in the bottom of the 1st. MCC then tallied 4 in the top of the 2nd as P Kelealani Waiau (Puget Sound, WA) reached on an error and Lili Nihi (Moanalua, Hawaii) was then hit by a pitch to put runners on 1st and 2nd. CF Skylar Higgs (Livingston, MT) singled to centerfield to load the bases. With 2 outs, LF Liz Ybarra (Belgrade, MT) and reached on an error by Laker CF that scored 3 runs and moved Ybarra to 2nd. SS Sierra John (Idaho Falls, ID) then ripped a single to rightfield to drive in Ybarra and the Pioneers led 4-1.
Scoring then stalled until the bottom of the 5th when the Lakers cut the Pioneer lead to 4-3 with 2 runs. In the top of the 6th Nihi singled to RF and PH Reed Johnson then singled to center. Higgs singled to load the bases and with 2 outs, Ybarra singled to center that scored 2 runs and moved Higgs to 3rd. John then singled again to drive in Ybarra and a 7-3 Pioneer lead. Roosevelt then had runners on 1st and 2nd in the bottom of the 7th after closing the gap to 7-6 but grounded out to end the game.
The Pioneers were led at the plate by Sierra John (3-4, RBI), Skylar Higgs (3-4, 2 Runs), and Liz Ybarra (2-4, 2 RBI, 1 Run). MCC took advantage of 6 Roosevelt errors as the Pioneers only had 3 earned runs.
Waiau pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 6 runs on 7 hits. She walked 2 batters and struck out 3. Alex Carr (Idaho Falls, ID) came in to get the final out of the game.
Game 2 - Pioneers 8... Roosevelt JV 2
The Pioneers scored 3 runs in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th to break open a close game to complete the sweep of Roosevelt JV 8-2. In the bottom of the 1st, LF Liz Ybarra led things off with a triple to centerfield. SS Sierra John then bunted in Ybarra for an RBI and a 1-0 lead. Roosevelt tied things up in the 3rd inning only to see MCC scored again in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 2-1 lead. 2B Abby Johnson (Hamilton, MT) doubled to leftfield and was driven in on a hard ground ball to the gap at 2B by 1B Lili Nihi.
MCC then took control of the game in the bottom of the 4th when Megan Toplovich (Great Falls, MT) reached on an error and moved to 2nd on a Higgs bunt single. After a Reed Johnson bunt that Toplovich was out running to 3rd, 3B Jocelyn Lujan (Murray, UT) singled to left to load the bases. Ybarra then singled to SS and Higgs scored. Johnson then scored after an error by the Roosevelt shortstop and the Pioneers led 4-1. Lujan then scored on a wild pitch for a commanding 5-1 lead.
Roosevelt scored in the top of 5th to cut lead to 5-2 but MCC rallied with 3 more in the 5th for the 8-2 win. Nihi singled to CF. P Hazel Eaton (Belgrade, MT) singled to right and courtesy runner Alexa Lewis (Bozeman, MT) advanced to 3rd. The Pioneers then completed a double steal as Lewis scored when Eaton stole 2nd and Eaton then stole 3rd. Higgs and Reed Johnson then both walked to load the bases. With 2 outs, Ybarra came up big again with a 2-run single to center scoring Eaton and Higgs.
Ybarra had a big game (3-4, 3B, 3 RBI, 1 Run) and Lili Nihi (2-2, RBI) added some punch. The Pioneers recorded 10 hits but had 8 strikeouts.
Madi Henry (Spanish Fork, UT) entered the circle and gave a solid 4 innings (4 H, 1 R, 1 BB). Hazel Eaton finished the game (2.0 Innings, 1 R, 2 BB). The win moved the Pioneers to 7-5 on the season. They will now start MonDak Conference play on March 26 when they host Bismarck State College in a double header.