NEWBERG, Ore. --- It was a tale of two games for the George Fox baseball team in their home Saturday doubleheader against Whitman; the Bruins dominated in a 9-1 game one victory but fell to the Blues, 3-14, in game two.
Game One
Sean Wiese was nearly unhittable in the first game en route to an easy Bruin victory. The Bruin junior allowed only four baserunners in his eight innings pitched, two of which came in the fifth inning. It was that fifth inning where the Blues jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI double. The Bruins would not wait long to respond.
Fox loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, scoring twice thanks to two Whitman wild pitches. That same at-bat Jared Gee, cleared the remaining base runner with an RBI groundout. Just like that, the Bruins led, 3-1.
Wiese continued his pitching clinic into the seventh as the Bruins racked up more runs. In the seventh inning, Jonathan Stone smacked a 350-foot shot over the fence to extend Fox's lead to four runs. The Bruin bats piled on with two sacrifice hits — a sac bunt from Jared Miller and a sac fly from Jeremy Sangalang — to lead 6-1 after the seventh.
The eighth inning proved to be more of the same with the Bruins' third three-run inning of the day. Noah Meffert hit a solo home run of his own to start the inning, while Jared Gee and Sangalang both drove in runs with sacrifice flies. After a quick, scoreless ninth inning, the Bruins finished the first leg of the doublehead with a 9-1 victory.
Game Two
After a dominant pitching performance in game one, the Blues bats came to life in the second, totaling 18 hits in the game. Spencer Roos was a bright spot in the game, batting a perfect 3-3 on the day with one home run and two RBIs. Mason Eastman had the other RBI on the game for the Bruins with a sac fly. Ultimately, a dominant gme from the Whitman offense — a game where they scored runs in six of the nine innings — led to a 3-14 defeat.
Top Performers
Wiese totaled an uber-impressive 12 strikeouts in his win in game one, tying a career high. His eight innings pitched set a career high for the junior. Roos had three hits apiece, batting 6-7 on the day with two RBIs. Meffert, Sangalang, and Gee were second for the Bruins with three hits across those two games.
What it Means
George Fox sits at 16-15 on the season with a 9-8 record in conference play. The Bruins sit just a half a game ahead of the Willamette Bearcats in the standings for the fourth and final conference playoff spot.
Up Next
George Fox will finish up their series with the Blues on Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for noon.
