NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox baseball team went head-to-head against No.1 ranked Denison; in the highly defensive game, the Big Red came out on top, 6-2. 

How It Happened
Despite their intimidating opponent — the Big Red entered as the top team in the D3baseball.com polls — the Bruins came out with their same dominant defense for their midweek game. Cole Schmidt started things off on the mound and, with the help of GFU's defense, the first inning ended quickly. It was only in the second inning that Denison was able to get on the board after finding the gaps and taking advantage of two Bruin errors and a wild pitch. With a runner on second, Schmidt was able to get the last two outs to end the inning and limit the damage, 2-0. 

The pitcher's duel continued and this time, it was Grant Baskin on the rubber at the top of the third. Through the rest of the third as well as the fourth, the Bruins put up a wall of defense that the Big Red could not break through. When Jack Galanida came to pitch in the fifth, he only continued to show off Fox's lockdown fielding. It was only in the sixth that Denison broke through their hitting drought; all it took was a homer and some hard hits to widen the gap in the score. Into the seventh, they only continued to put the ball in play, but were cut short to only one run to make the score 5-0. 

With another pitching switch in the middle of sixth — this time with Joey Wilcox on the hill — George Fox only continued to make solid plays in the field. With a runner in scoring position at third, catcher BJ Tokushima not only caught somebody stealing second, but also prevented the Big Red from gaining more runs with a pick off at third. In the seventh, Taylor Franklin was brought to the rubber; with bases loaded, Franklin got out of the inning and only allowed one run to cross home plate. 

After a short top of the eighth with Luke Vrable pitching on the rubber, the Bruins were able to get their first offensive action of the game. Bryan Ho squared the ball and sent a shot to left field for a single to not only end GFU's cold streak, but also prevented Denison's pitcher Cooper Marrs from a perfect game; to that point, Marrs had retired the first 22 Bruin batters. Adam Fulton came into the box next, and with good discipline at the plate, was able to draw a walk from new Denison pitcher Ryan Paganelis and move Ho into scoring position at second. Despite Fox's change of pace in their offense, they were unable to reproduce, leading the game to come down to the ninth inning. 

The inning started off with another Denison run, but before they could score another, they were quickly shut down with a pick-off and a strike out thanks to pitcher Andrew Miller. Starting off George Fox's offense was Gabe DeBenedetto and — after battling with a 3-2 count — was awarded a walk. Lead-off hitter Joey Marasco came up to the plate next and sent the ball to the left side for a hard hit single, helping DeBenedetto make it to second without any problems. However, the game began to change when Tokushima came up to bat; with a driving swing, he sent the ball high to the left center wall that was just shy of going over. Tokushima was still able to not only record a double, but also bring in DeBenedetto and Marasco to put GFU on the board, 6-2. While Brennan Bates made it to first after a walk, the Bruins were unable to continue their rally, leading to a No. 1 Big Red win, 6-2. 

Top Performances
In total, George Fox recorded three hits with Joey Marasco, BJ Tokushima, and Bryan Ho having one apiece; along with his hits, Tokushima led the team in RBI's with two thanks to his double in the ninth. For the midweek game, Fox had many pitchers who each contributed to limiting Denison's runs. Grant Baskin only allowed one hit in the two innings he pitched while Luke Vrable and Andrew Miller each allowed one hit in each inning they pitched as well. 

Coach's Thoughts
"I'm proud of the way we pitched against a really tough lineup," Bruin head coach Kevin Kopple said, "We still have to continue to get better and get ready for a big series this weekend."

What It Means
Denison rises to 11-1, while George Fox is now 7-10 (5-3 NWC). The Bruins battled mightily with the No. 1 team in the nation in the 6-2 loss, as the Big Red defeated conference foe Lewis & Clark 22-4 on Tuesday afternoon.

What Happens Next 
The Bruins will stay on their home turf for their next series against Whitworth; the first games will be a doubleheader on Saturday, March 21. First pitch is scheduled for noon.