NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox baseball team went up early against Division II Western Oregon, but after a turnaround eighth inning from the Wolves, Fox , 13-8.
How It Happened
In their mid-week game, the Bruins played multiple pitchers with
Taylor Franklin starting on the mound in the first. With Wolf runners on second and third, Franklin and GFU's defense was able to get out of the inning unscathed. Fox immediately began to create chaos in the field through their offense;
Garrett Strube started things off with a walk after battling with a 3-2 count. With a hard hit single from
BJ Tokushima, Strube was quickly placed in scoring position at second. When
Brennan Bates came up to the plate, he was sure to put the pressure on WOU's defense, and after a Western error, Strube was able to score and Tokushima found himself on second. George Fox was far from finished however;
Jayson Au Hoy saw the ball well and sent a shot to right center to bring in Bates and Tokushima to give George Fox an early 3-0 advantage.
With a few well-placed hits in the second inning, Western was able to get two back before — this time around —
Grant Baskin and the Bruins' defense shut them down, to stay up one, 3-2. In the next four innings, the game became a defensive battle as both teams struggled to find gaps in the field. For GFU, pitchers
Trevor Collins,
Luke Vrable, and
Joey Wilcox each put in work to prevent the Wolves from doing any damage. But more than just pitching, Fox's defense stepped up: despite having runners in scoring position in all four innings, the Wolves couldn't break through. It all came to a head in the bottom of the fifth, when — with the bases loaded —
Declan Corrigan handled a pitched that scooted outside him, throwing the ball to Wilcox to tag the advancing runner out at home and keeping GFU ahead.
After a quick top of the sixth — with
Spencer Simon on the rubber — George Fox's dominant offense came back. Once again, Bates was the first to bring motion to the field, but this time with a single to the left side;
Adam Fulton followed quickly after with a single of his own, but Bates unfortunately got out in the process. Next up was Au Hoy who was awarded a walk after practicing good discipline at the plate and moved Fulton to second in the process.
After Corrigan was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded with only one out down; GFU kept their discipline at the plate and after crucial walks from
Danner Hamburg and
Dylon Poulin, the Bruins took an even bigger lead on the Wolves, 5-2. Despite their lead, Western remained unfazed; with one WOU grand slam, the tides quickly changed to be in the Wolves' favor, 6-5. While the Bruins temporarily put a stop to the Western's offense, the Wolves quickly picked it back up in the eighth; by the end of the inning, they were up 12-5 after finding holes in the field.
George Fox was able to get one back in the bottom of the eighth after Hamburg doubled down the right field line and a Poulin single sent Hamburg home, 12-6. At the top of the ninth, WOU was able to add one more run to their score and it all came down to the bottom of the ninth for GFU.
Cole Martin began the rally with a his first career single to the right side before he advanced to second on a wild pitch. Shortly after,
Bryan Ho hit a solid single to help Martin cross home plate without any problems. With two outs already down,
Jack Metcalf hit a first-pitch double to send Ho home. George Fox attempted to continue their rally, but were unable to replicate their hits, leading to a Wolves win, 13-8.
Top Performances
Many players had hits for GFU over the course of the game and the team finished with nine hits overall.
Jayson Au Hoy,
Jack Metcalf and
Danner Hamburg each recorded a double as well. Leading the Bruins in RBI's was
Dylon Poulin with two.
What It Means
Western Oregon rises to 9-12, while George Fox falls to 5-9 (3-3 NWC).
What Happens Next
The Bruins will travel to Tacoma, Wash. for their next series against Pacific Lutheran; the first two games will be on Saturday, March 14 with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 pm.
