ATLANTA, Ga.—Lewis & Clark College softball upset #22 Emory University 4-2 in eight innings in game two, to earn a weekend split at the Eagles Elite Invitational on Sunday. 

THE BASICS 
 
Pfeiffer University 5, Lewis & Clark 3
Lewis & Clark 4, #22 Emory 2 (8 Innings)
(Lewis & Clark 7-7) 
(Pfeiffer 13-6) 
(Emory 10-8) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
After giving up a late lead in game one of the day to Pfeiffer University, the River Otters tied the game in the sixth and scored two runs in the eighth, to hand the host Eagles their first loss of the weekend. 
 
Senior ace Maggie O'Leary threw six innings in both games for Lewis & Clark. She finished the day allowing 11 hits, two walks and five runs and struck out 11 batters. 
 
Junior Harper Campanella led the offense with two hits, three RBI and her team-leading third home run of the season. Senior Gina Ozuna added hits in both games and produced the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth inning in game two. 

GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark held the momentum for much of the game, before Pfeiffer scored five runs in their final two at-bats to earn the weekend split against the River Otters. 
 
O'Leary went 6+ innings in game one and scattered seven hits and three earned runs. She added a season-high eight strikeouts. Fellow senior Charlize Pope came on in relief in the midst of the seventh inning and allowed two hits, a walk and two earned runs. 
 
Senior McKenna Zehnder recorded two of the team's five hits and added a run scored. Campanella belted a two-run homer and first year Cici Fortuno and Ozuna each added base hits. 
 
O'Leary was dominant early. She posted two strikeouts in the first inning and struck out the side in order in the second. O'Leary added two more strikeouts to begin the third to retire six batters in a row by way of the strikeout. The senior retired the side in order in the second, fourth and fifth innings and allowed just two singles through the first five innings. 
 
Lewis & Clark scratched across a single run in the third. Zehnder led off with a single, took second on a wild pitch and stole third. With one down, senior Madison Scroggins drove a ball to center field to easily plate Zehnder with a sac fly. 

The River Otters stretched their lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Ozuna reached on an infield single and Campanella belted a home run to center field with one out. 
 
Pfeiffer cut the deficit to 3-1 in the sixth. With one down, Landry Stewart and Heather Vaughn produced back-to-back singles. Kirstyn Herman followed with an RBI single to put Pfeiffer on the board. O'Leary retired the next two batters on a line out to second and a fly out to right to strand the tying run at first. 
 
The Falcons took the lead in the top of the seventh thanks to four hits, a walk and a River Otters error. The first two batters of the inning reached on a single and an RBI triple to cut the deficit to 3-2. Pope came out of the pen and retired the first batter she faced on a fly ball to center that tied the score at 3-3. Lewis & Clark would have gotten out of the inning still tied but an error extended the frame. With two outs and two runners in scoring position, Herman came through with a two-run single to give Pfeiffer their first lead of the game (5-3). Pope left two runners stranded when she struck out the final batter of the frame. 
 
Lewis & Clark was retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh to seal the win for Pfeiffer. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
Lewis & Clark rallied from a 2-1 deficit after four innings, to earn their first win in six tries against nationally-ranked teams this season. 
 
Junior Ryan Jurischk earned her first start of the season and held the Eagles to four hits and no runs in two innings. O'Leary came on with runners on in the third and gave up four hits, two walks and two runs across six innings. The senior tacked on three strikeouts. 
 
Senior Emily Patton led Lewis & Clark with two hits, two runs scored, a double and a sac bunt. First year Kodie Ancheta drove in two and posted a base hit. 
 
Emory ace Mackenzie Duford allowed six hits and four runs (three earned) across eight innings of work for #22 Emory. The Eagles senior, who was named the conference pitcher of the year in 2025, finished with just two strikeouts. 
 
O'Leary got Lewis & Clark out of a jam in the bottom of the third. With two runners on and no outs, the senior retired the first batter with a pop up. After a full count walk loaded the bases, O'Leary induced a foul out to left and a pop up to short, to extinguish the first rally of the game for either side. 
 
Lewis & Clark capitalized on the momentum with their first run of the game in the fourth. Patton reached on an infield single, took second on a Campanella groundout and raced home on an Ancheta RBI single through the middle. 
 
#22 Emory scored their only two runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Olivia Kohler singled with one out and Addison Kwong produced an inside-the-park home run to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. 
 
Lewis & Clark tied the game in the top of the sixth. Patton belted a double through the left side with one out and took third base on a Campanella single. Ancheta knotted the game at 2-2 with a sac fly to right field. 
 
Emory put runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the sixth but O'Leary induced a grounder to second to keep the score 2-2. 
 
Lewis & Clark faced their first extra-inning contest of the season and executed perfectly in the eighth inning. With senior Tallulah Sickels starting the inning on second, Scroggins put down a perfect bunt and beat it out to put runners on the corners. Ozuna laced an RBI single to center field to make it 3-2. After a Patton sac bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Campanella lifted a fly ball to center to score Scroggins for a 4-2 edge. 
 
The defense came up big in the bottom of the inning. Lewis & Clark retired the lead runner on a grounder to short to open the frame. After a pop up to short and a single to center put the tying run at first with two down, O'Leary retired Allie Stevenson with a fly out to right to clinch the win. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• With the game two win, Lewis & Clark improved to 7-7 on the season. The River Otters have already played six games against nationally-ranked teams in non-conference play. 
• Lewis & Clark's pitching staff posted a 1.50 ERA (six earned runs in 28 innings) across four games against 2025 NCAA Tournament teams this weekend. The team's ERA on the season dropped from 4.41 to 3.47 after their performance. 
• O'Leary has earned the win in softball's last two wins over nationally-ranked teams. Last season, the River Otters defeated #4 Linfield 4-2 on April 19. Today's win snapped a seven-game losing streak against nationally-ranked teams for Lewis & Clark. 
• Campanella finished the weekend hitting .417 (5-12) with a run scored, two extra-base hits and three RBI. 
• The pitching staff tied their season-high with nine strikeouts in game one. They also struck out nine batters in the final game of their four-game series against Whitworth University. 
• Lewis & Clark has won four-straight extra-inning games dating back to the 2024 season.  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will close out non-conference play on Wednesday when they host the College of St. Benedict at 2 and 4 p.m. The doubleheader will wrap up a span of 16 games in 20 days to open the season.