NEWBERG, Ore. – Led by a combined 7-for-8 at the plate by Matthew Zeller and Josh Rapacz, the George Fox University Bruins collected 15 hits and doubled the number of runs scored by the Pacific University Boxers for an 8-4 victory in their final game in the Cascade/Northwest Conference Baseball Challenge Sunday afternoon here at Morse Field.

George Fox went 2-1 in the tournament, defeating Corban University and Pacific with a loss to Concordia University-Portland, and is now 7-4 on the season.  The Bruins' game with the Oregon Institute of Technology was rained out and will not be made up.  Pacific went 0-3 in the tournament and is now 0-6 on the season.  Both teams are members of the Northwest Conference, but this was a non-conference game.

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the second as Kyle Kirwan walked, Zach Hegelmeyer reached on an error at third, Jared Chase hit into a force out to put runners at the corners, and Zeller beat out an infield roller to third as Kirwan scored.  They made it 2-0 in the fifth when Derek Dixon, on board after a force out, came around on singles to center by Zac Israel and Kirwan.  In the sixth, Zach Miller walked with two out and scored on Rapacz's second double of the game to the wall in dead center field.

Pacific cut the George Fox lead to one with a pair of runs in the seventh that were charged to Bruin starter Clay Gartner (1-0).  Justin Strayer and Charlie Gaff hit one-out singles, and reliever Ian Buckles walked Donnie Bradley to load the bases before allowing a two-run single to Walker Olis.

The Bruins broke it open with five in the last of the seventh against Pacific relievers Nick Morton, Topher Mood, and Quin Moore.  Derek Dixon was hit by a pitch to open the inning and Israel was safe when the first baseman came off the bag too early on his sacrifice bunt.  Michael Hirko walked before Hegelmeyer singled in a run to the hole at short.  Chase delivered a two-run single, but Hegelmeyer was caught trying to reach third on the play.  Zeller singled Chase to third, Miller singled in a run as Zeller reached third, and Rapacz delivered a sacrifice fly.

The Boxers touched reliever Sean Eberhardt for his first two runs allowed in the eighth on singles by Logan Moen and Austin Gallagher, a walk to Dan Jaffe, and Anson Araki's two-run double just off the glove of Zeller in left.  Zeller, who fell down on the play, retrieved the ball and flipped it to center fielder Gabe Louthan, who gunned down Jaffe at the plate trying to score a third run on the hit.

Alex Keenan worked the ninth for the Bruins to preserve the win for Gartner, although it was not a save situation.  Gartner went 6.1 innings, scattering eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks.  Tyler Kotchik (0-1) took the loss for the Boxers as the starter, working 5.0 innings and allowing nine hits but only two runs, one earned, as he constantly wiggled off the hook, leaving nine Bruins stranded in his five innings.  He fanned two and walked three.

Zeller went 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI as the Bruins' lead-off hitter, while Rapacz was 3-for-3 with a walk, a sac fly, two doubles and two RBIs.  Chase also had two hits and drove in two runs.  The Boxers, hitting only .212 as a team coming in, had a season-high 12 safeties, Arakaki and Olis each going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.  Gaff also had two hits.

NEXT: Both teams begin NWC play next weekend, starting with doubleheaders Saturday at 11:00 a.m.  George Fox will host Lewis & Clark College while Pacific goes to Linfield College.