Box Score Game 1
Box Score Game 2

NEWBERG, Ore. - Winning the first game 6-5 with a run in the bottom of the 9th but losing the second by a lopsided 11-2 score, the George University Bruins split a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader with the Willamette University Bearcats Saturday afternoon here at Morse Field and dropped into a first-place tie in the conference with Linfield College.

George Fox is now 11-4 overall and 8-2 in the NWC, while Willamette is 8-7 overall and 4-2 in the league. Linfield swept a twinbill at Whitman College 5-0 and 3-2 and is now even with the Bruins at 8-2 in the NWC, as well as 12-3 overall.

In the opener, the Bearcats took a 1-0 lead in the 1st against Bruin starter Nick Bratney on Kyle Stalker's home run to center, his 12th of the season, and made it 2-0 in the 2nd when Sean Anderson bunted for a two-out hit, stole second, and scored on Doug Bloom's ground single to right.

The Bruins took the lead back with three in the bottom of the 2nd off southpaw Clint Moran (1-2), who went the whole way for the Bearcats. Kyle Kuenzi singled, Todd Siler doubled him to third, and Dan Winterstein tied the game with a two-run triple to left-center. Kyle Seymour's slow roller to third plated Winterstein. The Bruins added two more in the 5th as Cody Spencer singled in Josh Burch and Ryan Fobert's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded scored Pat Bailey.

The Bearcats tied the game in the 6th with three runs, the last two unearned. Jack McGee walked with one out and went on third on Dan Maslanik's double to right, then scored when Burch at short threw away Ellis Webster's grounder. Maslanik scored from third on Jordan Roberts' ground out to second.

Brian Davis (3-0) relieved Bratney to start the 9th and surrendered a one-out single to Bloom, then hit Stalker with a pitch. T.C. Lee grounded a single through the left side, but Bloom was cut down at the plate on a strong throw from left by Todd Siler before Davis got Colin Young on a liner to first for the final out.

The Bruins won the game in the last of the 9th as Dan Winterstein singled up the middle to open the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice by Seymour. Burch grounded out to third and Winterstein advanced on the throw, but Stalker's return throw from first trying to get Winterstein hit the runner in the helmet and rolled into the George Fox dugout on the third base side, allowing the winning run to score.

Winterstein had three hits for the Bruins, while Lee had three and Anderson, Bloom, and Maslanik two each for the Bearcats. Moran allowed eight hits, struck out six and walked four, while the Bruins' Bratney scattered 10 hits over eight innings, fanning five and walking three.

In the nightcap, Kelsey Nakata (1-0) stymied the Bruins, the top-hitting team in the league, on six hits through 8.1 innings, allowing only two unearned runs in the 9th. He fanned three and walked three, and his teammates gave him plenty of early run support.

Young sliced a three-run home run down the left-field line in the 1st after singles by Stalker and Lee for a quick 3-0 Bearcat lead off southpaw Brady Rhodes (1-1), then put the game away with three in the 3rd and four more in the 4th. Rhodes' wildness helped the cause as he surrendered six walks, hit a batter, and gave up six hits in 3.1 innings. The three runs in the 3rd came without a hit, and Anderson had a two-run single in the middle of the four-run 4th.

The Bearcats got their final run in the 7th when Young again went the opposite way to left for his second homer of the game. Derek Aldrich hit an RBI double to score Nate Brown and Cody Curtin's ground out scored Joey Bianco for the Bruins' only runs in the 9th.

Lee again had three hits for Willamette, while Anderson, Young, and Max Stepan had two hits apiece. Young scored four times and had four RBI, and Anderson drove in three runs.

The games were delayed three times by inclement weather, twice by rain and once by hail, and took almost seven hours total to complete. The weather is expected to be better Sunday as the teams conclude their series with a pair seven-inning contests at 12:00 noon.