College of Idaho Softball Receives Team of the Week Honor
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The College of Idaho softball team, which is off to a 13-3 start to its season, the best in program history, has been named the “Verizon Team of the Week” in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, the conference office announced Sunday.
“It's an honor for this team to be recognized for their accomplishments,” College of Idaho softball head coach Al Mendiola said. “They work hard and have great team chemistry and it is paying off for them.”
The Yotes (13-3) have won seven straight games, including their weekend sweep over nationally-ranked Dickinson State. C of I won all four meetings with DSU, which is two spots out the national top 25, in Caldwell this weekend. College of Idaho outscored the Skyhawks, 40-12, over the weekend.
“Besides a couple of innings, I think the team played well in all facets of the game,” Mendiola said. “We gave up a couple of big innings, but I was proud of the way our offense responded.”
Saturday, Alexis Macias tossed a complete-game three-hitter in the opener, while combining to drive in seven runs on the afternoon, as The College of Idaho swept a doubleheader from Dickinson State, 11-2 and 10-6, at Symms Field. The Lady Yotes battled a stiff breeze and a hailstorm to complete the sweep.
Macias roped a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning of Game 1, and then pitched a three-hit shutout in Game 2, as the Yotes completed a four-game sweep of Dickinson State, winning 7-4 and 11-0, Sunday. Game 2 was all C of I, as the Yotes sent 13 batters to the plate in the first - scoring eight runs. Molly Mills and Hannah Johnson each had two-run singles in the frame. Nikki Shumway capped the scoring with an opposite field three-run homer in the fourth.
“The team is playing well together,” Mendiola said. We are doing several things well right now and we have several players that have been clutch in certain situations. “We are proud of what we have accomplished but we know we need to get better in order to get where we want to be.”
The Yotes’ next games are against the University of British Columbia on March 9, in Caldwell. College of Idaho hosts UBC in a pair of doubleheaders on March 9 and 10.
Previous Verizon Team of the Week awardees.