Box Score

NEWBERG, Ore. - Securing the Northwest Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball National Championship Tournament, the 16th-ranked George Fox University Bruins collected their most hits and runs in a game this season and knocked out the 20th-ranked Pacific Lutheran University Lutes 24-6 in a one-game conference playoff Saturday afternoon here at Morse Field.

With the victory, George Fox improves to 33-9 overall, setting a new Bruin record for the most wins during a regular season.  The 1999 and 2005 teams both won 32.  The 2004 national championship team set the total wins record with 40, but went 9-1 in the post-season after going 31-9 in the regular season. 

Pacific Lutheran is now 31-9 and awaits a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.  PLU is rated 4th and GFU 5th in the latest West Region rankings.  Due to the ease and low cost of travel expenses, both teams would be virtual locks to be assigned to the West Regional at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., which starts either Wednesday or Thursday next week, contingent upon the regional being either a six or eight-team format. 

The complete field of 54 teams (35 “Pool A” automatic qualifiers, 6 “Pool B” independents, and 13 “Pool C” at-larges), with sites, dates, and pairings for each of the eight regionals, will be announced Monday morning, May 11. The eight-team NCAA Division III World Series is set for Friday-Tuesday, May 22-26, at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisc.

Led by a record-setting performance by lead-off man Kyle Kuenzi, the Bruins hammered out 25 hits in their biggest offensive output of the season.  The senior center fielder went 5-for-7, tying the GFU record for most at bats in a game, and scored four runs, setting a new single-season record for runs scored with 66.  The previous record was 62 by Ryan Munoz in 1999.

Joining Kuenzi in the prodigious hit parade were Matt Wyckoff, Bo Thunell, and Seth Anderson, who each had four hits.  Wyckoff had two doubles, three RBIs, and four runs scored, Thunell drove in four and scored four, and Anderson collected five RBIs.  Dan Winterstein had three hits, including a double and a triple, scored three times and drove in two, and Taylor Hunter had two hits and scored twice.

PLU got on the board in the top of the 1st on an RBI single by Matt Akridge and a run-scoring force out by Ryan Aratani, but the Bruins responded with a vengeance in the home half of the inning, scoring eight runs off Lutes starter Robert Bleecker to take control.  Of the Bruins' first 11 hitters, eight collected base hits, and the other three drew a walk and hit two sacrifice flies. 

Thunell singled in Kuenzi with the first run, Pat Bailey's single scored Wyckoff with the tying run, and after Winterstein bunted for a hit to load the bases, Anderson delivered a go-ahead two-run double down the right-field line.  Jason Brown and Brent Trask hit sacrifice flies before Wyckoff greeted reliever Trey Watt with a two-run double to cap the frame.

In the 3rd, the Bruins picked up three unearned runs with a rare three-run single.  With the bases loaded and the runners going on a 3-2, two-out pitch, Anderson dumped a soft single into left-center and Wyckoff, Thunell, and Winterstein all scored. 

The Bruins continued to pour on the runs with one in the 4th, two unearned runs in the 6th, and three in the 7th,Thunell's two-run single highlighting the 7th.  The coup de grace came in the 8th as the Bruins sent up several pinch-hitters who delivered in a seven-run inning, Kyle Seymour drilling a two-run double and Derek Aldrich driving a three-run homer to left, his first of the season.

The onslaught was more than enough for Bruin hurlers Nick Bratney, Mark Putney, and Chad Jones.  Bratney (5-3) worked the first five innings to pick up the win, allowing seven hits and four runs with one strikeout.  Putney went three frames and allowed two runs before Jones closed the game with a scoreless 9th.  Bleecker (9-1), the first of five PLU hurlers, suffered his first setback after 15 consecutive wins over the last two seasons.

The first four batters in the PLU order - Josh Takayoshi, Kris Hansen, Jordan Post, and Akridge - had two hits each as the Lutes collected 12 hits in all. Takayoshi scored twice and Akridge had two RBIs.