Picture above courtesy of Joshua Moczygemba

SAN ANTONIO, Texas --- The No. 29-ranked George Fox baseball team kicked off its season with success on Friday, as the Bruins beat No. 23 Concordia (Texas), 2-1, and Centenary (La.), 7-6.

The Bruins start their season 2-0 and will have two more games to complete the four-game series this weekend.

In the first game, both teams entered a pitching duel that only gave up a combined eight hits. Bruin' Ian Buckles received the nod on the mound and pitched an excellent game allowing just three hits and one run. He recorded seven strikeouts and faced 26 batters in his seven innings of play.

Sean Eberhardt pitched a one-hit eighth inning, while Nathan Higa relieved Eberhardt in the ninth earning the save.

The Bruins scored one in the top of the second after Jacob Woehler hit a sac-fly to score Kadyn Nannini, who opened the inning with a single to left field. The Bruins tacked one more on in the fifth when Clay Mott hit a sac-fly to score Riley McKean.  The Tornados didn't go down without a fight though, as they also scored one in the fifth, but the Bruin pitching crew proved to be too tough.

Nannini led the Bruins with two hits, while Mott, Andrew Reichenbach and Gabe Louthan all recorded a hit apiece.

Game Two

By: Ryan Lackey

A late eighth-inning comeback and a clutch save from Nathan Higa saw the George Fox University men's baseball team survive a few uncharacteristic errors in the field and eke out a quality 7-6 victory over Centenary in San Antonio, Texas.

The Bruins leapt out to an early lead in the first, when three-hitter Zach Rapacz launched a deep homer to score Brandon Wileman, who led off the Bruins with a triple. They added another in the second, when Kyle Esquerra singled in third baseman Blake Christopher.

Tromba, the Centenary starter, settled down to throw a few quality innings. Bruins starter Taylor Dunn was masterful through his first three innings, surrendering only two hits, but found himself in trouble in the fourth. A walk and a passed ball allowed Lavergne to single in an unearned run.

Head coach Marty Hunter pulled Dunn in the fifth after Dunn gave up another run, but reliever Dustin Wells found the seventh inning troublesome. A single to left by Zapata drove in one run, and a throwing error let in another. Zapata promptly scored on another passed ball, and a dropped infield fly led to yet another run. By the time reliever Michael Hirko, who spelled Wells, fanned Lavergne to end the inning, Centenary had captured the lead, 5-4.

The Bruins had a quick response, though, answering with three runs of their own. Substitute Riley McKean led off the inning with a single. After a hit batsman, Centenary suddenly found themselves unable to throw the ball, as a a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt led to McKean coming around from second to tie the game, 5-5. Pinch hitter Gabe Louthan then paid off, as his single to right-center drove in another two runs. Rapacz struck out to end the inning, but the Bruins regained the lead, 7-5.

After Schimpf singled for Centenary with one out in the ninth, Nathan Higa replaced Hirko on the rubber. Higa struck out Sebastien, but Simpson singled in Schimpf to narrow the score to 7-6 with two outs. Critically, Bruins catcher Tyler Hamilton gunned down Simpson trying to swipe second, and the Bruins' lead stood as the final score: 7-6.

The Bruins were led by Brandon Wileman's 2-4 performance at the plate, as well as Kyle Esquerra, who went 2-3 with an RBI. Though he went 1-5, Rapacz's one hit was a blast, his round-tripper in the first.

The Bruins improve to 2-0 on the young season and play Trinity tomorrow night in Texas.