SALEM, Ore. – Perry Knudson lined a
pinch-hit home run to left in the top of the 9th inning
to give the George Fox University Bruins a 7-6 second-game win
after the Willamette University Bearcats took advantage of six
Bruin errors for a 7-2 win in the opener in a Northwest Conference
baseball twinbill Saturday afternoon here at John Lewis
Field.
Seth Anderson gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the 2nd
inning of the first game with a home run to right-center, his first
of the year, but the Bearcats picked up a pair in the
4th to go ahead for good. Derek Collins started
the rally with a single and Max Stepan doubled him to
third. Collins scored on T.C. Lee's grounder to
second, and Stepan crossed on Tim Schilf's slow roller to
first that was bobbled by Anderson.
The Bearcats scored two unearned runs in the
6th. Lee singled and stole second to open the
inning, but stayed there as Bruin starter Mark Putney (2-3) fanned
the next two hitters. Tyson Giza's high chopper to
second went under the glove of Josh Burch as Lee scored, and Giza
came all the way around when catcher Brent Trask threw Galen
Duff's bid for a bunt hit down the right field line.
George Fox got an unearned run of its own in the 7th
as Trask singled and raced around the bases when Michael
Woo's two-out liner to deep left was dropped by Lee.
Collins made up for that one with his first home run, a solo shot
to right-center, in the home half. The Bearcats added two
more tainted tallies in the 8th when Sky Kelley doubled
and Giza bunted for a single, but relief pitcher Adam Weber threw
the ball away as Kelley scored, and shortstop Sam Stahl made a wild
relay throw trying to get Giza racing for third, allowing the
batter to circle the bases in one at bat.
Putney worked 7.0 innings for the Bruins, allowing seven hits
and five runs, three earned, with five strikeouts and two
walks. Devin Grindy (2-2) went 7.2 innings for the Bearcats,
spacing six hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Collins,
Lee, and Kelley had two hits each for Willamette, while Anderson
and Trask had two safeties apiece for George Fox.
The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning
of the nightcap as Nate Hickok walked, Stahl singled him to third
and then stole second, and Woo singled to right to plate both
runners. Willamette cut the deficit in half in the 2nd
on a double by Giza and an RBI single by Duff.
A two-run George Fox rally in the 5th started as Eric
Gantenbein and Cody Curtin singled to put runners at the
corners. Hickok tapped back to starter Jake Jones (0-1), who
threw wide to second trying to force Curtin, and as Gantenbein
headed home, shortstop Doug Bloom threw wildly to the plate,
putting Curtin on third and Hickok on second. Stahl's
sacrifice fly to center plated Curtin. Dan Winterstein singled in
two runs in the 8th following a Woo single and a Josh
Rapacz double to make it 6-1.
The Bearcats erupted against Bruin reliever Travis Schroeder in
the 8th, scoring five times to tie it. Collins
singled and Lee hit his fourth home run to right-center to get
things going. Singles by Dylan Summers and Giza and a steal
by Giza put two runners in scoring position, and Duff delivered
them with a bouncing double over the third base bag, cutting the
George Fox lead to 6-5.
Bruin closer Chad Jones (2-2) replaced Schroeder and surrendered
a ground single to left by Bloom that tied it before fanning
Mitchell Rowan to prevent further damage. That set up
Knudson's game-winning blow, his first round-tripper of the
season, on the second pitch from Bearcat reliever Blake Paisley
(1-2), and Jones worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th to secure the
win.
Bruin starter Jeremy Cheney went the first seven innings,
allowing only four hits with six strikeouts, including three in the
1st, and two walks, but got no decision. Woo had
three hits and Stahl two to lead the Bruins at the plate.
Summers, Giza, and Duff had two hits each for the Bearcats.
George Fox (11-9, NWC 4-4) and Willamette (6-10, NWC 3-5)
conclude their three-game series with a single contest here Sunday
at 12:00 noon.
