BSB: PORTLAND 8, GEORGE FOX 0 - Pilots’ Late HRs Break Up Pitching Duel with Bruins

PORTLAND, Ore. - Matt Mardesich broke up a scoreless duel with a two-run home run in the 7th, then added a three-run insurance shot in the 8th as the NCAA Division I University of Portland Pilots finally erupted to defeat the George Fox University Bruins 8-0 in a non-conference baseball game Tuesday afternoon here at Joe Etzel Field.

Right-hander Chad Jones for George Fox and southpaw Ed Wakefield for Portland both started strong, with Jones perfect through the first three innings and Wakefield perfect through five and one-third frames.  Kris Kauppila led off the Portland 4th with a single and Riley Henricks walked with one out, but Jones escaped the jam with a pair of flies to left, finishing with two strikeouts in four innings on the mound. 

Eric Gantenbein broke up Wakefield's perfect game with a one-out single in the 6th, but the lefty struck out the side in the inning to escape any damage and totaled seven strikeouts in his six inning of work.  The only other Bruin hit was a lead-off double by Jason Brown in the 8th. 

Brian Ranta (1-1) relieved Jones in the 5th and allowed one-out singles to Kramer Scott and Mardesich to put Pilots at the corners, but Scott was cut down at the plate by Nate Hickok while trying to score on C.J. Cullen's fly to center.  The Pilots finally broke through in the 7th against Ranta when Kyle Haskin singled to lead off and Mardesich drilled a two-out home run to left to break the scoreless deadlock.

The home team put the game away with six more runs in the 8th.  Henricks tripled in the first run of the inning and scored on Kevin Armijo's single, one run scored on a throwing error, and Mardesich capped the outburst with a three-run blast to left for his second round-tripper of the game and third of the season.

Keeler Brynteson (2-1), the third of four Portland pitchers, got the win.  Chris Dennis earned his third save when he came on in the 8th when the score was still only 2-0 and finished the game.

Mardesich had three hits in the game and Kauppila had two for the Pilots.  The Bruins' Sam Stahl went 0-for-4 and had his streak of nine straight multi-hit games snapped.

George Fox (6-5) opens Northwest Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at pre-season conference favorite Pacific Lutheran University.  The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and a single on Sunday at the same time.  Portland (6-1) plays a three-game series at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark., starting with a single game on Friday at 4:00 p.m.