Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 By Seth Preuss
FOREST GROVE --- George Fox finished its baseball series against Pacific (Ore.) after a few days' delay due to inclement weather on Tuesday, April 9, with a split doubleheader and a few extra innings. The Bruins fell 8-7 in game two of the series in 12 innings before taking the series with a 6-3 win in game three of the series against the Boxers.
Recap
Game Two
In a game that began on Saturday, April 6, before being suspended due to inclement weather, Landon Schirer took the hill to start the game and worked four innings before the game was suspended, allowing four runs on five hits while retiring six Boxers via strikeout. Schirer would return to the hill on Tuesday, April 9, and worked another inning and a third before getting the hook. Isaac Olson worked a scoreless one inning and two thirds before giving way to Matt Voelzke for four and two thirds in what proved to be a 12-inning loss by walkoff.
After a scoreless inning to start game two, George Fox broke the scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the second frame. Jerred Seamons started the inning by wearing a pitch and Swenson lifted a two-run shot out of the park for the early 2-0 lead, and the Bruins tacked on another in the third for an early 3-0 advantage with singles from Matt Ramirez and Kyler Brudwick, as well as an RBI groundout by Seamons.
The Boxers plated a run in the bottom of the third in answer, but George Fox added two more in the top of the fourth for a 5-1 lead. Colby Watilo drew a walk and Voelzke doubled down the right field line before a Derek Johnson single plated both runners for the 5-1 lead.
The Boxers answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 5-4 score, but George Fox came right back with two single runs in the top of the fifth and sixth frames for a 7-4 lead. A Sam Swenson Swenson RBI double in the fifth plated CJ Ibara, and an RBI single in the sixth from Ramirez brought in Jason Garcia for the 7-4 lead.
The Boxers shut down the Bruins bats after that, however, and were able to force extra innings after plating two runs in the sixth and another in the eighth for a 7-7 tie. After three extra frames, the Boxers won by walkoff in the 12th inning to even the series with an 8-7 win.
Game Three
Top Performers
Game Two
Swenson was red-hot at the plate with a four for five outing, including three RBI and a run scored on a homer and a double.
Game Three
The Bruins put Chase Fetzer on the hill to start the third game of the series and got four innings from the lanky right-hander before giving the ball to Liam Kent for a pair of scoreless frames and the win in relief. Bradley Emmens shut the door with three shutout innings, scattering three hits and a walk to close down the Boxer offense to earn the save in a 6-3 win for George Fox.
The Bruins grabbed an early lead with two runs in the top of the first after a leadoff single from Voelzke, an RBI double from Brudwick, and an error by the Boxer defense. Pacific got one of the runs back in the bottom half of the inning, but the Bruins tacked on two more in the third after a scoreless second frame.
A leadoff single from Ramirez and another Brudwick double turned into a 4-1 lead in the third after a sacrifice fly from Swenson and an RBI groundout from Fetzer. The Bruins tallied another run in the fourth with a Johnson single and a Voelzke double for a 5-1 lead before giving up two runs in the bottom half of the frame for a 5-3 advantage.
The Bruins got one more run across in the sixth after Johnson got on with a walk, took third on a Boxer error, and came home on an RBI single to center field by Garcia. Both teams' relievers locked in after that and sped through the final three innings to cap the night with a 6-3 final and a Bruin victory.
What It Means
George Fox takes its fourth Northwest Conference series and improves to 20-11 overall and 14-7 in NWC play, jumping into second in the NWC standings behind Whitworth (14-4) with one NWC series remaining on the Bruins' schedule.
What Happens Next
The Bruins play host for Willamette in their final NWC series of 2019 on April 13 & 14 in Newberg.
