NEWBERG, Ore. – Hosting their first regular season series of the season, the George Fox baseball team was sure to impress the home crowd, taking down Pacific Luthern in both games of their doubleheader, 9-8 and 6-3.
How It Happened – Game One
Prior to the game, the team honored former star catcher
Josh Rapacz, who threw out his first pitch to cap off a weekend that saw him inducted into George Fox Sports Hall of Fame. As the game got underway, the Bruins found themselves trailing early; a home run from the Lutes had put PLU in the driver's seat, up 3-0 after three. Quickly, though, the Bruins countered.
Fox totaled four runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to their first four batters of the inning (
Evan Balingit,
Carson Coulter,
Garrett Strube, and
Austin Stalwick) all reaching base. Stalwick's single drove in the first two Bruin runs of the day, before a sac fly from
Andre Butler and a failed pickoff attempt leading to a run gave the Bruins the 4-3 lead.
The celebration in the Bruin dugout was short lived, as Pacific Lutheran roared back — scoring four runs of their own to take a 7-4 lead. But once again, Fox answered the call: for the third straight half inning, a team scored four runs. This time, it was three straight doubles from
Mason Eastman, Balingit, and Coulter, as well as a
Stanley Schoppe RBI single, that gave the Bruins the lead back.
PLU added one additional run in the top of the sixth to even the score at eight, but the scoring finally slowed after its frantic mid game pace. Neither team scored in the sixth, but the Bruins put two base runners on with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Butler answered the call for coach
Kevin Kopple, beating out the throw on an infield single to give Fox the 9-8 lead.
Ryder Edwards entered the game for Fox in the eighth, looking to pick up his third save of the young season. Instantly, though, the Lutes put two on base, even loading the bags with two outs. Calmly, Edwards dealt the final strike of the inning before retiring three straight in the ninth — with help from a diving catch from Eastman for the final out — to earn the save and give GFU the win.
How It Happened – Game Two
After a high-flying game that saw 16 runs in the first five innings, game two started out as a pitcher's duel.
Caleb Debban had faced the minimum through four innings — giving up two hits that were instantly thrown out by catcher
Shane McClendon. On the offensive side, the bottom of the second proved to be the only early-game success for the Bruins, with Butler driving home Strube; after five innings, the Bruins led, 1-0.
As was the case with the first game, one inning contributed a high percentage of total runs for each team. A two-out rally from the Lutes saw PLU score three runs before the Bruins countered with two of their own to knot the game at three. An RBI Single from
Noah Takayama and a Strube run on a passed ball tied the game.
Jack Galanida entered the game for Debban and kept the Lutes off of the scoreboard for the next two innings. The Bruin offense was sure to take advantage, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-3 lead. A key error on the second at-bat of the inning turned what looked to be a surefire double play for PLU into a scoring opportunity for Fox.
The Bruins again took advantage, loading the bases and scoring three runs off of a Takayama RBI single, Butler walk, and
Shayde Koga sacrifice fly. Much like his fellow reliever, Galanida quickly closed out the Lutes, handing Fox a 6-3 victory and a 2-0 day.
Top Performers
Luke Vrable earned the win in game one on the mound, while
Jack Galanida picked it up in game two.
Ryder Edwards notched his third save of the young season in game one, while
Caleb Debban struck out six in six innings. For the hitters,
Carson Coulter led the way with three doubles in two games, while
Andre Butler had five RBI.
Coach's Thoughts
"Today we played two competitive, well-played games," Bruin head coach
Kevin Kopple said, "We executed at a high level and made some big pitches. We have to continue to get better week to week."
What It Means
The Bruins improve to 6-6 (3-2 NWC), while the Lutes fall to 4-6 (2-3 NWC)
What Comes Next
The Bruins continue their three-game series against Pacific Lutheran on Sunday, March 9, with a first pitch scheduled for noon.
