Box Score PHOENIX, Ariz. – Clutch hits in a two-run
8th inning and stellar pitching by Taylor Hill and Alex Keenan
carried the George Fox University Bruins to their first win of the
2012 baseball season, a 5-3 victory over the Concordia
University-Austin Tornadoes, in the Arizona Desert Classic Saturday
afternoon here at Sandra Day O'Connor High School.
Finally putting it all together at the right time after seven
straight losses, the Bruins picked up their win at the expense of
the defending American Southwest Conference champion Tornadoes, who
suffered only their second setback of the season in falling to
8-2.
Danny Clifford got the Bruins going with a solo home run in the
2nd, and they added two more runs in the 4th. Taylor Hunter
reached on an error, David Greenstein doubled him to third, and
Clifford's ground out scored Hunter. Nick Benish
delivered Greenstein with a clutch two-out hit.
Hill worked the first seven innings, scattering four hits with
three strikeouts and two walks, but left with a 3-3 tie after
allowing three unearned runs in the 7th. In the 8th, after a
walk to the Tornadoes' lead-off hitter, Keenan came on to get
a strikeout and 6-4-3 double play to keep the game tied.
In the last of the 8th, Greenstein singled and Clifford doubled
him to third, setting up run-scoring singles by Josh Rapacz and
Zac Israel that would make Kennan (1-0) the
winner. Greenstein finished the game with three hits, while
Clifford, Rapacz, Benish and Israel had two hits apiece.
Keenan fanned the first batter in the 9th, then allowed two
runners on a single and an error. However, the juco transfer
from Mt. Hood Community College got another strikeout and a bouncer
back to the mound to nail down the win
The Bruins conclude play in the tournament Sunday against the
University of Texas-Dallas. The game will be played at
Boulder Creek High School in suburban Anthem at 10:00 a.m.
The Arizona Desert Classic features 12 D-III teams - four from
the Pacific Northwest, four from California, and four from Texas -
with games being played at O'Connor and Boulder Creek High
Schools. For complete tournament information, including the
entire schedule, field locations, admission costs and other
information, go to the information sheet on the George Fox baseball
website at http://athletics.georgefox.edu/sports/bsb/2011-12/files/adcinfo.pdf.
--- Box score currently unavailable