TACOMA, Wash. -- The George Fox baseball team split the first two games of their road series against the Puget Sound Loggers, losing the first in yet another final inning heartbreak, 5-4, but taking the second convincingly, 8-5. 

How It Happened - Game One
Carson Coulter opened the scoring for George Fox with a solo homer in the top of the second, which was immediately matched by a home run by Puget Sound in the bottom of the inning to level the scores. The Bruins struggled against the Logger's starter early in the game, recording just two hits through the first six innings.

Fox's pitching was able to contain Puget Sound's bats for the first half of the contest, though, until several walks loaded the bases in the sixth inning. Back-to-back RBI doubles drove four runners home and gave the Loggers the lead, 5-1.

The Bruins battled back in the top of the seventh, with Evan Balingit scoring on a sacrifice fly from Bleu Ellis. Jonathan Stone hit his first home run of the season to close out the inning, bringing Fox back within two runs. 

Another Bruin sacrifice fly, this time from Jeremy Sangalang, brought in Shane McClendon in the top of the eighth. Fox couldn't drive in the go-ahead run, leaving two runners stranded, but narrowed the gap to 5-4 headed into the final inning.

Fox needed one run to tie in the top of the ninth, and quickly put runners on the corners after several errors from Puget Sound. Down two outs, Jared Miller singled to drive Stone home, but he was forced to return to third after umpire interference was ruled on the play. The Bruins struck out swinging to drop yet another game one in heartbreaking fashion, 5-4.

How It Happened - Game Two
The Bruins strung together four straight hits in the first inning, punctuated by a three RBI homer from Jared Whitaker to jump out to an early lead. The Loggers responded with four singles of their own in the bottom of the inning, however, driving home two runners to cut into that lead, 4-2. 

Puget Sound struck again in the fourth; tying the game with a two RBI home run on their only hit of the inning. Fox regained the lead in the next inning, though, when Meffert scored off a base hit by Sangalang. The Bruins tacked on another run in the sixth after Coulter hit a double — running home to score on a throwing error by the Loggers.

Fox's momentum with the bat only grew as the game progressed. Balingit, Meffert and Sangalang all got on base early in the seventh — two of the runners brought home by Eastman and Coulter to widen their lead, 8-4. 

The Loggers scored one more run on an error during the top of the eighth, but were unable to mount any real comeback. Fox's pitching staff held Puget's offense to just four hits in the last five innings on their way to the victory, 8-5.

Top Performances
Jeremy Sangalang led the Bruins offensively, hitting 4-8 on the day with two runs and two RBIs. Jared Whitaker impressed in the second game, going 2-4 with a homer and three RBIs. Both Noah Meffert and Carson Coulter were also 2-4 in the second game, scoring two runs each. On the mound, Jonathan Stone allowed just one hit in his two innings pitched in the second game on his way to earning the win.

What It Means
The Bruins move to 12-9 (3-5 NWC) on the year, while Puget Sound falls to 9-11 (1-4 NWC).

What Comes Next
The Bruins will look to win the series tomorrow in their final game against Puget Sound. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.