PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College softball used a pair of dominant pitching performances and a big inning in both games, to sweep Whitworth University in their 2026 home and Northwest Conference opening doubleheader. 
 
THE BASICS 
 
Lewis & Clark 6, Whitworth 3
Lewis & Clark 8, Whitworth 0 (5 Innings) 
(Lewis & Clark 3-5, NWC 2-0)
(Whitworth 0-8, NWC 0-2) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior Maggie O'Leary and first year Sammy Santa Ana combined to strike out 15 batters and allowed one earned run in 11 innings of work. Santa Ana made her first collegiate start in game two and held Whitworth to just two hits and no runs, while striking out eight to earn her first collegiate win. 
 
Offensively, Lewis & Clark posted two of their highest run totals of the season to snap a five-game losing streak. Junior Lacey Marglin blasted a bases-clearing triple in the fourth inning of game one as part of a four-run frame. First year Kodie Ancheta delivered the big hit in game two - with a bases-clearing double to punctuate a seven-run second inning.
 
GAME ONE 
 
O'Leary allowed one run in six innings and Marglin came through with a pair of big plays to help Lewis & Clark open conference play with a 6-3 victory. 
 
O'Leary limited the Pirates to four hits, one walk and one run over six innings. She added seven strikeouts to pick up her second win of the season. First year pitcher Kara Kahahawai pitched one inning of relief and allowed two hits and two runs. 
 
Marglin was one of five River Otters to finish with two hits. She posted two hits, three RBI and a triple in four at-bats. Junior Harper Campanella chipped in two hits and two RBI and seniors Madison Scroggins (one RBI) and Emily Patton each added two hits and two runs scored. Ancheta added two hits, a double and a walk in three at-bats. 
 
Lewis & Clark took a lead after just four batters in the bottom of the first. Ancheta opened the frame with a walk but was erased on a fielder's choice. Patton followed with a single and took second base when Scroggins drew a throw to third base. With two runners in scoring position, Campanella drove a single through the middle to score both runners. 
 
The River Otters put the game away in the fourth inning. With Lewis & Clark leading 2-1, Whitworth put the leadoff hitter on second base with no outs. Megan Highfill lifted a fly ball to right-center field that Marglin raced over to grab and then she pivoted and threw a laser to third base to erase the runner trying to take third. 
 
With their lead intact, senior Gina Ozuna started off the bottom of the fourth inning with a double to the wall in left-center. She made it 3-1 two batters later when Scroggins drove a ground ball through the circle for an RBI single. Lewis & Clark loaded the bases with a Patton double and a two-out walk by Makena Dahir. After falling behind 0-2, Marglin worked herself back into the at-bat and roped a tripled to the wall in right-center to score all three runners to make it 6-1. 
 
Whitworth would score two runs in the top of the fifth against Kahahawai, but that is close as they would get. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
Santa Ana delivered a gem in her first collegiate start and Lewis & Clark erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the second to earn their first mercy-rule win of the season. 
 
Santa Ana scattered two hits and two walks and struck out eight batters in her first start and second collegiate appearance.
 
Ancheta provided all the offense Santa Ana would need. She went 2-2 with two runs scored, three RBI and a pair of doubles out of the leadoff spot. 
 
First year Cici Fortuno and Patton each added two RBI apiece. Fortuno went 2-3 with a run scored, two RBI and a double. Patton finished 1-2 with a run scored and two RBI. 
 
Lewis & Clark grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first inning. Ancheta started the frame with a double to center, took third on a sac bunt and raced home on a Patton sacrifice fly. 
 
The River Otters poured on seven more runs in the second. Fortuno started the inning with a single and moved to second on a sac bunt and third on a wild pitch. Lewis & Clark loaded the bases with an Abby Yamashita walk and an Ozuna bunt single. Ancheta blew the game open with a three-run double to right-center field to make it 4-0. After a Scroggins single and wild pitch put two runners in scoring position, Patton delivered an RBI single to make it 5-0. Campanella followed with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 6-0. The home team extended the inning with a Marglin walk and Fortuno drove in Patton and Marglin with a double that bounced just in front of the diving center fielder to make it 8-0. 
 
Santa Ana cruised in her first career start. She never allowed more than one baserunner in an inning and posted at least one strikeout in every frame The first year struck out the side in order in the third inning and notched five consecutive strikeouts between the third and fourth innings. 
 
Santa Ana put together her most impressive inning in the fifth. After a leadoff triple by the Pirates, Santa Ana posted a strikeout and back-to-back ground outs - to strand the runner at third and secure the shutout. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• The River Otters scored a season-high eight runs in game two. They are 3-0 this season when scoring six or more runs. 
• Lewis & Clark has now won nine consecutive games against Whitworth. The River Otters can win the season series for a third-straight year with at least one win on Sunday. 
• Santa Ana's eight strikeouts are the most by a River Otters pitcher this year. In her first collegiate outing last weekend against #23 Chapman, she allowed two hits and three walks to the five batters she faced. 
• First year Nalana Warfield made her collegiate debut as a defensive replacement in game two. 
• Ancheta led Lewis & Clark offensively with four hits in five at-bats. She tacked on two runs, three RBI and two walks.  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will host Whitworth on Sunday for the final two games of the conference series. First pitch of game three is set for 11 a.m.