Simon Fraser University remained in solid control of second place in Great Northwest conference women's softball last week.
The Clan swept bottom-table Northwest Nazarene 8-0 and 2-0 last Thursday before splitting a two-game set with Western Washington in Bellingham on Sunday.
SFU took the opening game 4-0, but allowed the Vikings a late comeback before falling 6-2 in the nightcap.
The Clan left 18 runners on base, including 13 in the later game.
Cara Lukawesky threw a complete-game victory in Game 1, allowing just two hits and striking out eight batters. The win improved her season record to 17-5.
Trisha Bouchard got the Clan on the board early, smashing her seventh home run of the year over the left field fence to bring home baserunner Carly Lepoutre from first in a four-run opening inning.
In the second game, Kelsie Hawkins pitched five strong innings before the Vikes got hot, registering six runs on nine hits against both Hawkins and Lukawesky.
"We made some mistakes in the sixth inning. Some balls dropped in that shouldn't have and that shouldn't happen at this level," said SFU head coach Mike Renney in a Clan press release. "At the same time, hitting is contagious and once they got going offensively they just kept going."
The split moved the Clan's record to 28-12 and 21-11 in conference play. SFU is just three games back of first place Montana State, with both teams having four games remaining including a head-to-head matchup in a doubleheader next Saturday in Billings, Montana.
