By Seth Preuss

SALEM --- The George Fox baseball team kicked off its final series of the 2019 season with a single game against Willamette on Friday, May 3. The Bruins grabbed an early lead but could not hold off a staggering Bearcats rally in the middle innings in a 12-6 road loss.

Recap

The Bruins put Christopher Stone on the mound to start the game and got four innings from their right-hander. Liam Kent worked two thirds of an inning in the fifth, Isaac Olson followed with an inning and a third, and Corey Caldwell finished the game off with two scoreless innings of work in the seventh and eighth frames.

George Fox grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. With Kyler Brudwick and Matt Ramirez standing on base, Chase Fetzer singled into left field for two RBI and a quick 2-0 lead. Sam Swenson followed with a double into left to plate Fetzer for the 3-0 advantage.

The Bruins nursed their 3-0 lead for three innings before the Bearcats caught fire in the fourth. A 3-0 lead quickly turned into a 5-3 deficit by the end of the fourth, and the home team kept its momentum through the middle innings by scoring at a torrid pace. A pair of three-run shots in the fifth and sixth frames quickly gave the Bearcats an insurmountable 12-3 lead by the close of the sixth inning.

The Bruins' batters found their stroke again in the later innings but the rally wasn't enough to cut a nine-run lead. Jerred Seamons drove in a Bruin run in the seventh to plate Brudwick and Ramirez hit a two-RBI single into right in the eighth, but George Fox would get no closer in a 12-6 loss.

Top Performers

Ramirez finished two for five with two RBI and a run scored and Fetzer was two for four with two RBI and run for the Bruins. Caldwell was the only George Fox hurler that kept a clean sheet, working two innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball.

What It Means

The Bruins fall to 22-16 overall in their 2019 campaign.

What Happens Next

The Bruins will cap their 2019 campaign with a doubleheader against the Bearcats on Sunday, May 5, in Newberg at Morse Athletic Field.