GEORGE FOX 4, LEWIS & CLARK 1: Bruin Hurlers Toss 5-Hitter to Win Series with Pios

WEST LINN, Ore.  – Three George Fox University pitchers combined on a five-hitter and Dan Winterstein slugged his team-high fifth home run to ignite the offense as the Bruins took the rubber game of a three-game Northwest Conference baseball series from the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers 4-1 Sunday afternoon here at West Linn High School.

George Fox is now 23-9 overall, equaling last year’s total for wins, and 13-8 in the conference.  Lewis & Clark fell to 5-29 overall and 3-18 in league play.

Winterstein put the Bruins on the board in the bottom of the 3rd with a two-out solo shot just to the right of dead center field and into the high school tennis courts beyond.  It was his second home run of the series, having led off Friday’s first game with a round-tripper on the first pitch he saw in the last of the 1st.

After being held scoreless through three innings by George Fox starter Brian Davis, the Pios tied it with a run in the 4th.  Eliot Smith, the Lewis & Clark pitcher, hit a one-out double to right-center, advanced to third on a muffed pickoff attempt, and scored on Sam Holman’s double down the right-field line.  With two out, Corey Davis and Gianluca Giarrizzo walked to load the bases, and Carl Mason relieved Davis, who had allowed four hits with three strikeouts and three walks in his 3.2 innings.  Mason escaped further damage by getting Andrew Frisina on a pop to short.

Mason worked two more innings, allowing no hits while striking out three and walking one, and got his  first career win (1-0) when the Bruins broke the 1-1 tie in the last of the fourth.  Sam Stahl singled down the right-field line, stole second, went to third on a sacrifice, and scored on Derek Aldrich’s single up the middle through a drawn-in infield.  An infield single by Nate Hickok and an RBI single to left by Zac Israel sent Aldrich home.

The Bruins add a final run in the sixth on a double by Eric Gantenbein, a bunt single by Aldrich, and Hickok’s run-scoring ground out to short.  Jacob Brown then replaced Mason for the final three innings, throwing one-hit relief while fanning two with no walks to earn his fourth save of the season.

Southpaw Smith (2-8) went the distance for Lewis & Clark, allowing nine hits and four runs with three strikeouts and no walks.  He also had two of the Pios’ five hits.  Aldrich and Hickok had two hits each for the Bruins.

As the game was the final weekend game at “home” for the Bruins, the team recognized its seven graduating seniors - Aldrich, Winterstein, Hickok, Stahl, Gantenbein, Jay Kirchhofer, and Andrew Snyder - in pre-game ceremonies.

NEXT: George Fox visits league-leading and eighth-ranked Linfield College for a twinbill Friday at 1:00 p.m. and a single game Saturday at 12:00 noon.  Five games out in the loss column, the Bruins are still mathematically in the NWC pennant race, but must win or sweep the Linfield series and then get help when the Wildcats visit Pacific Lutheran University the following weekend if they are to have any shot at the conference title ... Lewis & Clark hosts Pacific Lutheran for two on Friday and one on Saturday, starting both days at 12:00 noon.