TACOMA --- With the Northwest Conference season winding down to its final weekend of conference play, the George Fox baseball team needed to go undefeated in order to have a shot for the NWC Tournament. Well, the Bruins did their job on Saturday, as they came away with a 5-3, 4-2 win over Puget Sound in the first two games.

Recap:

Game One:

The Bruins knew what was on the line going into Saturday's doubleheader against the Loggers. Despite trailing by one after the first inning, the Bruins played small ball to score the equalizer in the top of the second.

Dillon Blankenship was able to hit a single up the middle to spark the one-run inning, and Matt Voelzke drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Turner Glenn tried to lay down a sac-bunt, but a Logger error provided the Bruins with bases loaded. AJ Valencia stepped up to the plate and did what he does best – worked himself a full count and ended up recording an RBI walk to tie the game up 1-1.

The Bruins took their first lead in the top of the fifth after a sacrifice fly by Jerred Seamons brought home Austin Baek for the 2-1 lead.

The momentum continued into the top of the sixth, as the Bruins scratched across two more runs. The highest scoring inning in the game was capped off by Baek hitting a single up the middle to score the first run, while a wild pitch brought home Valencia.

The Bruins held a 4-1 lead going into the eighth.

George Fox scored another run in the top of the eighth, but the Loggers responded with a run of their own to bring the score to 5-2.

Matt Voelzke took the mound and locked down the Loggers to seal the 5-3 victory.

Game Two:

A big ninth inning propelled the Bruins to a 12-2 victory over the Loggers in the second game.

The game started off with the Bruins scoring an early run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead.

The Loggers responded in the bottom of the fourth with two runs to take their only lead of the game 2-1.

The Bruins found their groove in the fifth and seventh innings to jump out to a 4-2 lead. The two-run seventh inning started off with a single from Jantzen Tamanaha. Kyler Brudwick hit a double to right field scoring Tamanaha and Kyle Esquerra followed suit with a double of his own to trade places with Brudwick.

The Bruins best inning came in the final inning of the game. George Fox managed to string together a seven-run inning to seal the 12-2 victory.

Turner Glenn kicked off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Tristan Guillen drew a walk and Glenn and Guillen moved bases on another wild pitch. Matt Voelzke was hit by a pitch and the Bruins suddenly had bases loaded with no outs. A third wild pitch brought home Glenn for the first score of the inning. Austin Baek singled through the left side to score Guillen and Voelzke for the two RBIs. A couple more wild pitches and passed balls set the Bruins up nicely, while Derek Johnson kept the Bruins alive with a single to left field for an RBI.

The Bruins finished the inning with five hits.

Top Performers:

Game One:

Valencia recorded two RBIs on the day, while Turner Glenn and Austin Baek were the only Bruins to record multiple hits. Alex Jondal recorded the win for the Bruins, posting seven innings with only one earned run. Voelzke grabbed his seventh save of the season and now ties the school record in single-season saves. With today's save he now has 12 in his career, which is a new George Fox school record.

Game Two:

Brudwick led the Bruins on the day, going 3-4 at the plate with three RBIs. Tamanaha, Valencia and Sam Swenson all recorded two hits apiece in the game. AJ Atherton recorded the win for the Bruins.

What It Means:

The Bruins now sit at 20-16 on the season and 12-11 in the NWC. The Bruins are tied with Whitman at 12-11 in conference play and sit tied for fourth.

What Comes Next:

The Bruins will play the rubber match Sunday afternoon against the Loggers.