By: Ryan Lackey

SALEM, Ore. --- The Bruins split their Saturday doubleheader with Willamette, erupting for 13 runs in the first-game rout before cooling in their 8-4 second-game loss.

Recap:

Game One
Both AJ Valencia and Riley McKean tallied four hits, and Andrew Reichenbach banged out another home run. To be sure, the Bruins scored in bunches in the opening game, starting in the first inning. Valencia led off with a double, and Andrew Reichenbach clubbed a homer over the right-field fence to establish a very early 2-0 lead.

Willamette matched in the bottom of the first, tagging Bruin starter Dustin Wells for two on an RBI groundout and an RBI single. But the Bruins were just warming up. McKean singled to open the second, and after he swiped second, Connor Newell dropped a single down the left field line, scoring McKean.

With a 3-2 lead, the Bruins were again active in the third, which was rather like the second inning. Once more, the Bruins scored a single run after a single—this time by Gabe Louthan—a stolen base, and an RBI single, from Jacob Woehler.

In the bottom of the fourth, Connor Bailey kept Willamette in the game with his RBI double. After five, the score was just 4-3, but the Bruins pulled away in the sixth. With two on, Valencia's attempted sacrifice was thrown away, and Kaydn Nannini raced in for the first run. After two groundouts, Woehler came through again, driving a single to left to bring around two more runs, and the Bruins enjoyed a 7-3 lead.

They added to that lead in the eighth on one swing. With the bases loaded and two outs, McKean picked out a mistake from Evan Giddings and deposited it over the left field fence. McKean's grand slam made the score 11-3, and two more Bruin runs in the ninth made the final 13-3.

Game Two
Unfortunately for the Bruins, they couldn't quite match game one's offensive output in the second, and Willamette tagged five Bruin pitchers for eight total runs. The Bruins were again the first to score when Woehler drove in Louthan with a single in the first. But the Bearcats scored three in the first, two on an RBI single from Tyler Janitz.

In the fourth, the Bruins got one back. With Mott, who'd singled, on second, Caylen Clardy sliced a double into the gap, and the score narrowed to 3-2. But Willamette responded with two in the fifth, on an RBI double from Eric Del Prado and a single from Perry Van Eckhardt.

The Bruins battled, squeezing across a run in the sixth on Clardy's RBI groundout, and another in the top of the seventh, when McKean singled in Reichenbach, who'd led off with a scorched double.

Down just 5-4, the Bruins couldn't keep Willamette in check. Three runs in the bottom of the seventh on just one Willamette hit and five walks was too much for the Bruins to overcome, and they took the 8-4 loss.

Top Performers:
Game One

McKean with his grand slam was an obvious standout. He posted a career day: 4-5, two runs, four RBIs. Valencia was also 4-5 and scored four times, driving in two. Louthan was 2-4 and scored twice. Reichenbach was 1-6 with his homer and three runs driven in. Nannini was 3-5 with two runs.

Game Two
Clay Mott, Ansel Webster, and Clardy all notched two hits apiece. Clardy also drove in two. McKean and Woehler both drove in one.

What It Means:
The Bruins are at 8-5 overall but 4-1 in conference after Saturday.

What Comes Next:
A single game tomorrow will conclude the three-game set with Willamette.