NEWBERG, Ore. – With a clean victory, the George Fox baseball team racked up 15 hits and 10 RBIs and absolutely dominated the field, 11-4 in a perfect start to winning the weekend series.

How It Happened
The Pios kicked off the game slowly in the first inning with 0 runs and 1 left on base allowing the Bruins an open door to get ahead. Noah Meffert made his way around as he singled to left field and finally came in with a sharp first run off of a Carson Coulter RBI — Fox was up and at 'em, building their foundation at 1-0.

The Bruins wouldn't be up for long after the Pioneers scored two on an error, leaving the Bruins down 1-2. After a wake-up call, Fox came back in with Bleu Ellis singling and scoring, tying the game 2-2 in the second inning. Starting the third inning off with a bang, the Pios bumped their score up to 2-3 with a home run on the first hit. George Fox then fought their way back to eye-level as Jeremy Sanglang advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI double from Mason Eastman, tying the tallies 3-3. 

The fourth inning was a suspenseful one as both teams brought a fight to stay on top. The Pios scored a run to take the score, 3-4, and in response Shane McClendon scored, tying the battle 4-4. 

The Bruins continued to make the crowd roar as Jared Miller and Evan Balingit scored two runs for Fox as Meffert advanced to third on an RBI double from Sangalang. In the next play, Meffert scored, making the total 7-4. Ahead by three runs, Ellis extended that lead up to 9-4 on an RBI double to score Sangalang and Coulter.

The Pioneers started to lose steam in the fifth inning as Fox took advantage. Noah Meffert tripled to right and Jared Miller scored. From third, Noah Meffert boosted the score even higher to 11-4, scoring on a sac fly from Coulter. The last four innings were used as a cool down, with reliever Austin McQuilliams making quick work for the Bruins as they made their rounds to lock in a solid win of the night.

Top Performances
Noah Meffert had four hits and three runs from five at-bats, nearly hitting the cycle; 23 games into the season, Meffert has six triples on the year, the most in the nation and two away from tying the George Fox single season record. Jeremy Sangalang tallied up two runs and one hit, while Carson Coulter topped out the RBIs with three, followed by Bleu Ellis and Jeremy Sangalang with two each. Jared Miller made two hits and two runs from five ABs. Austin McQuilliams picked up the win after striking out nine in four innings of work.

Coach's Thoughts
"Really good job by McQuilliams out of the pen and a solid all around offensive performance," Bruin head coach Kevin Kopple said, "Excited for the chance to compete tomorrow."

What It Means
George Fox upgrades to 14-9 (5-5 NWC), while the Pioneers fall to 10-9-1 (2-5 NWC).

What Comes Next
George Fox stays in their backyard playing in Newberg on Saturday March 30, for the next game of the series against conference rivals Lewis & Clark. The first game will begin at 12:00 p.m.