NEWBERG, Ore. – George Fox University's Clay Gartner out-dueled Linfield College's Chris Haddeland in a matchup of the nation's winningest pitchers in the opener 4-1, but the visiting Wildcats captured the second game 12-3 over the Bruins for a Northwest Conference baseball split Friday afternoon here at Morse Field. 

George Fox, ranked 23rd in the Collegiate Baseball / ABCA poll and with votes in the D3baseball.com poll, is now 25-9 overall and 15-8 in the NWC. Linfield, ranked first in both polls, is 28-4 overall and 18-2 in the league.

Game 1 - at George Fox 4, Linfield 1

Entering the day, Gartner was 8-1 with a 2.38 ERA and 57 strikeouts and Haddeland, last year's National Pitcher of the Year, was 8-0 with a 0.97 ERA and 54 strikeouts, tied atop the NCAA Division III in victories.  Both went the distance, Gartner surrendering six hits with four strikeouts and two walks to go to 9-1.  Haddeland fell to 8-1 by allowing eight hits and three earned runs with nine strikeouts and one walk.  

The Bruins scored first with an unearned run in the 2nd.  Zach Rapacz reached on an error at third, was sacrificed to second, and scored on Kadyn Nannini's single to left.  The Wildcats tied in the top of the 3rd on a double to right by Corey Van Domelen and a two-out RBI single to left by Clayton Truex.

The Bruins broke the tie with two runs in the 4th.  Rapacz and Zac Israel hit consecutive singles and Zach Hegelmeyer hit into a force out at second, but Rapacz never hesitated rounding third on the relay throw to first and sped home just ahead of a tag at the plate.  Following a walk to Nannini, Matthew Zeller singled up the middle to score Hegelmeyer.  They added a final run in the 7th when Danny Clifford singled with two away, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on a single up the middle by Josh Rapacz.

Clifford went 3-for-4 to lead the Bruins at the plate, while Van Domelen was 2-for-4 for the Wildcats.

Game 2 - Linfield 12, at George Fox 3

In the nightcap, the Wildcats slowly built up a 5-2 lead, then put the game away in the 7th by capitalizing on three Bruin errors to score seven unearned runs.  The big blow of the frame was a three-run home run by Kramer Lindell, his first of the season, off reliever Kyle Albertson.  The 'Cats pounded out 14 hits in handing George Fox starter Ian Buckles (6-1) his first loss of the season.

Linfield got two runs in the 1st on a Jake Wylie single and a run-scoring ground out by Lindell, and two more in the 4th on two-run Truex double that knocked out Buckles.  They made it 5-0 in the 6th on a Truex sacrifice fly.

The Bruins got two runs back in the home half of the 6th.  Derek Blankenship singled and scored on a two-out double by Derek Dixon, and Dixon scored on a Zach Rapacz single.  The Wildcats thwarted all hope of a Bruin comeback, however, with their 7th-inning outburst that also featured a Truex two-run single, giving him five RBIs in the game.  The final George Fox run came in the 8th as Gabe Louthan walked, moved up on a wild pitch, and scored on an Israel double.

Zach Brandon (6-0) went 5.2 innings to get the win for the 'Cats, surrendering seven hits while striking out four with a walk.  Buckles went 3.2 for the Bruins, allowing seven hits and four runs, three earned, with three punchouts and two walks.

Dixon, Israel, and Zeller each had two of the Bruins' 10 hits.  VanDomelen, Nick Fisher, Truex, Lindell, and Kenny Johnson all had two hits for the Wildcats.

NEXT: The teams will conclude their three-game series Sunday with a single game at 12:00 p.m.  It had been originally scheduled for noon, was moved back to 1:00 p.m. to accommodate ceremonies for the Bruins' seniors, and then was moved back Friday to try to get ahead of some expected bad weather on Saturday.  Twelve graduating George Fox seniors will be honored before the game - Clay Gartner, Josh Rapacz, Derek Dixon, Derek Blankenship, Zac Israel, Matthew Zeller, Zach Hegelmeyer, Connor Harris, Danny Clifford, Ian Skiles, Jake Hanley, and Kyle Albertson.