ORANGE, Calif. --- Facing the No. 11 team in NCAA DIII for the second day in a row, George Fox baseball picked up a 12-7 win in game one with 21 hits and a … in the series finale against the Panthers.

Game One

Fox put Travis Miller on the mound to start the game and the converted catcher ran into trouble early, but Fox was able to get him off the hook with 12 runs on offense. Ryan Silver was credited as the winning arm with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, and Jonathan Stone paired with Andrew Sutherland to shut out the Panthers in the last four innings.

After falling behind early, 4-1, the Bruins battled back into the game with four runs in the third inning. Tyler Durant doubled home Brandon King and Jeremy Sangalang to kick off the rally and scored himself on an RBI single from Jared Whitaker. Bleu Ellis plated Whitaker a few swings later with an RBI double into center field.

The Panthers scored three in the bottom half to answer back, but Fox's bullpen shut them out in the last five innings and scored seven unanswered runs to claim the game. Franklin Leonard homered and King doubled late to cap the scoring rally as Fox won a slugfest in nine innings, 12-7.

Game Two

George Fox put Ben Wills on the mound to start game three and the right-hander gave the Bruins five strikeouts in six innings of three-run baseball, scattering seven hits through his no-decision start. Alex Abbott pitched two innings of what was initially a potential closing opportunity, and Noah Meffert finished the game with four innings to earn the win, retiring seven via strikeout while allowing two runs in the victory on the hill.

The scoring started with a Bruin tally in the top of the third and three Panther runs in the bottom half of the frame, but the real game kicked off late as Fox rallied back to earn three innings of free baseball.

Still trailing 3-1 after seven innings, the Bruins briefly tied it at 3-3 with two in the top of the eighth. King walked, Stone singled, and a sailed throw on a double-steal allowed King to cruise in from second. With Stone now on third after the error, a sac fly from Spencer Roos plated Stone for the tie.

The Panthers took a 4-3 lead with a run in the bottom of the eighth, but Fox wasn't done and grabbed another lead in the ninth. Mason Groenwald drew a pinch-hit hit-by-pitch and Jared Gee ran for him, scoring on a single and an error to tie it at 4-4. Jared Miller scored from third after an RBI single from King to give Fox a 5-4 lead.

The Panthers tied it to stretch the game into the tenth. Fox plated a run with back-to-back doubles by Roos and Mason Eastman in the tenth and Chapman tied it again at 6-6. A scoreless 11th came and went, and then the fireworks started - but not before the field lights shut off, forcing a 15 minute delay. In the top of the 12th, the Bruins loaded the bases and were happy to plate one at a time. Shane White kicked it off with a walk, Andrew Sutherland pinch-ran, and four hours after winning game one as a pitcher, Sutherland plated the winning run with a Panther error on a fielder's choice. Sangalang wore a pitch for an RBI with the bases still loaded, and an RBI single from King kept the party going. A delayed 3-2 count - halted by the lights - turned into an RBI walk for Stone, and the rally ended with RBI singles for Whitaker and Roos as Fox batted around in the inning for a 12-6 win in extras.

Top Performances

Sutherland delivered both wins with his left arm and his legs, shutting out the Panthers for three frames to earn a save and scoring the game-winner in the 12th inning of game two. 

King and Sangalang combined to hit 11-20 on the day with eight RBI and eight runs between them, and Meffert came up clutch to close game two on the mound.

Coach's Thoughts

"I'm really proud of the grit and the fight we showed today," coach Kevin Kopple said after sweeping the doubleheader. "Winning a series on the road against a really good ball club is never easy, but we found a way."

What It Means

Fox improves to 7-6 overall with a series win over No. 11 Chapman, putting some high-quality wins on its resume after just over a quarter of the season. Chapman falls to 3-3 with the losses.

Up Next

Fox faces Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks on Sunday, Feb. 27, to finish its last SoCal trip of 2022.