NEWBERG, Ore. – With a 12-strikeout, two-hit performance, Tom Zarosinski took over the Northwest Conference lead in whiffs and pitched George Fox University to a 3-0 win over the Pacific University Boxers Monday afternoon here at Morse Field, completing a three-game series sweep that pulled the Bruins within half a game of the league lead.

George Fox, ranked 19th in the D3baseball.com national poll, improved to 15-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference, tied for second with defending NWC and NCAA Division III national champion Linfield College (12-3, NWC 5-1).  Pacific Lutheran University sits atop the league at 5-0 (10-4 overall).  Pacific, despite allowing the normally hard-hitting Bruins only six runs in the three-game set, fell to 3-8 overall and into the conference cellar at 0-6.

“They've got some good young arms over there,” admitted George Fox head coach Marty Hunter, “and they pitched us tough all series.  Our guys on the mound were just tougher, and we needed it until our bats get it figured it out again.”

Zarosinski is a Bruin pitcher who has finally 'figured it out', and the results have been spectacular.  Originally signed out of Lake Oswego (Ore.) High School by Oregon State University, the right-hander red-shirted there as a freshman and came to the Bruins in the fall in 2011 having thrown very little in a year. 

“Tom's mechanics needed some readjusting when he got here, and we knew it was just a matter of time before he put it all together,” said Hunter.  “He's got the stuff the scouts look for - a good fastball, a hard and sharp-breaking slider and curve - and now he is harnessing all of that and getting it where he wants it.”

Coupled with Monday's shutout of the Boxers, Zarosinski's line over this season and his last four starts in 2013 have resulted in a 7-1 record in nine starts, 72 strikeouts and only 11 walks in 69.2 innings, and a 1.68 earned run average.  He is 4-1 this spring with a 1.91 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 37.2 innings, eight K's ahead of teammate Clay Gartner, Trevor Lubking of PLU, and Brett Lambert of Whitman.

In Monday's gem, Zarosinski fanned at least one in every inning and walked three.  The only two hits were singles in the 1st and 6th innings by Donnie Bradley, the son of retiring Pacific head coach Greg Bradley.

Almost lost beside the Bruin right-hander's sterling effort was a fine effort by Boxer righty Kyle Treadway (1-2), who scattered eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks.  Zach Rapacz solved him with a 4-for-4 day, and Danny Clifford was 2-for-4 as well.

The Bruins got all the runs they needed in the 2nd.  Clifford singled to lead off, stole second, and went to third on a single by Rapacz.  Clay Mott singled to center to score Clifford, and Zac Israel's chopper to third put runners at second and third.  Consecutive squeeze bunts by Kadyn Nannini and Matthew Zeller (with an error on Nannini's bunt keeping the inning alive) brought in Rapacz and Mott, and Zarosinski took it from there.

NEXT: George Fox visits Willamette University for a three-game NWC series this weekend, with a pair of games Saturday and a single on Sunday, starting both days at 12:00 noon … Pacific hosts Lewis & Clark College in a conference series for two Saturday and one Sunday, also at noon.