Box Score SALEM, Ore.
– Sam Stahl went
4-for-4 on the day, with a go-ahead grand slam home run during a
six-run fourth-inning rally, to lead the George Fox University
Bruins to an 11-10 win over the Willamette University Bearcats and
a sweep of their three-game Northwest Conference series Monday
afternoon here at John Lewis Field.
The game was the conclusion of a series that began on Saturday
at George Fox, but wound up with single games Sunday and Monday at
Willamette due to a swamped and unplayable outfield at the
Bruins' Morse Field. George Fox improved to 14-5
overall and 5-4 in the conference, while Willamette fell to 8-9
overall and 3-6 in the NWC after its sixth consecutive setback.
The game began as a hitters' delight, turned into a battle
of the bullpens in the middle, and put the fans on the edge of
their seats in the final inning. The Bearcats got things
rolling in the top of the first off George Fox right-hander Brian
Davis with a walk to Tyson Giza and Doug Bloom's first home
run to right with one away. T.C. Lee doubled and scored on an
error on Max Stepan's grounder to second, and Adam
Reid's pop single down the right-field line plated Stepan for
a quick 4-0 Willamette lead.
George Fox immediately responded with three in their half of the
frame off righty Chris Torgerson (3-1), who entered the game with a
1.75 ERA. Dan Winterstein and Taylor Hunter hit back-to-back
doubles to lead off for one run, and Hunter scored after stopping
at third when Stahl's single to right was over-run for an
error. Eric Gantenbein singled Stahl to second, and after a
sacrifice moved the runners up, Derek Blankenship's ground
out to short scored Stahl to make it 4-3.
The Bearcats boosted their lead back to four with three more in
the second. Brandon Chinn, Giza, and Galen Duff stroked
consecutive singles for one run, Bloom's sacrifice fly to
deep right scored Giza, and Stepan singled up the middle to score
Duff.
Joey Clancy (1-0) replaced Davis to start the third for the
Bruins and shut out the Bearcats over six innings, allowing only
four hits with five strikeouts until the ninth. That gave the
George Fox offense the time it needed to finally get to Torgerson,
which the Bruins did in the bottom of the fourth.
Derek Aldrich walked to lead off, Blankenship singled, and both
runners moved up when Torgerson tried a pickoff at second with no
one covering. Aldrich scored on a throwing error at short on
Zac Israel's grounder, and after John Mountz bunted and
reached on a forceout at third, Nate Hickok singled to load the
bases. Winterstein drew a walk to force in Israel before
Stahl launched a two-out drive over the fence in left-center for a
grand slam, his first round-tripper of the season, and a 9-7 George
Fox lead.
Southpaw Jamie McCaffrey replaced Torgerson and shut down the
Bruins on two hits over 3.1 innings before being relieved by Parker
Johnson, who surrendered a two-run blast into the trees in deep
right-center to Hickok after walking Israel in the eighth.
Those runs would prove to be critical in the ninth.
Down 11-7, Bloom fouled out to start the top of the ninth for
Willamette, but Lee singled and Stepan walked, bringing on Andrew
Snyder in place of Clancey. Tim Schilf singled to right to
score Lee, Reid singled to left to load the bases, and pinch-hitter
Kyle Kirwan singled to right-center to drive in two and put Reid on
third as the tying run with only one out.
George Fox coach Marty Hunter, who had picked up his 100th
career coaching win the day before when Taylor Hunter, his son,
homered in the bottom of the 11th for a 5-4 win, elected to bring
in Winterstein from right to try for the save. Chinn tried to
get down a safety squeeze for the tying run, but Winterstein
pounced on it quickly and fed Gantenbein at the plate for an easy
tag on Reid coming in from third. He then notched his second
save in as many appearances on the hill by getting Giza on a fly
out to left.
In addition to Stahl's four hits, Winterstein and Hickok
each had two hits for the Bruins. The Bearcats out-hit the
Bruins 15-12 (in fact, they have out-hit their opponents in five of
their last six games but dropped all six), with Lee and Chinn
collecting three each, and Duff and Reid two apiece.
NEXT: George Fox goes to Whitman College for a
three-game conference series this weekend, playing two on Saturday
and a single on Sunday, both at 12:00 noon ... Willamette hosts
Pacific Lutheran University in a conference set with a doubleheader
on Saturday and a single on Sunday, both at 12:00 noon.