TACOMA, Wash. — After having to reschedule due to weather conditions, the George Fox baseball team finished their series against Pacific Lutheran with an eight inning, 13-3 loss, but still ended the series with a 2-1 win. 

How It Happened 
It didn't take long for the bats to heat up on the field — especially for the Lutes. By the end of the second inning, they held a 4-0 lead thanks to some well-placed hits in the gaps, a few Bruin errors, and a strong home run over the right field wall. However, it wasn't until the third inning that Fox got their chance to get on the board. Gabe DeBenedetto began the rally with a solid single to center field, before a Garrett Strube groundout advanced DeBenedetto to second. All it took was a driving single up the middle from Evan Balingit to send DeBenedetto sliding safely into home. Despite GFU getting one back, PLU quickly answered back with one of their own to make the score 5-1. 

The fourth was an efficient inning for both teams defensively — with Grant Baskin on the mound for George Fox — before Pacific Lutheran's bats heated up again in the fifth. Their offense persisted and they were able to score two more on a few hits in the holes as well as a Bruin error, 7-1. Despite the Lutes lead, Fox remained resilient as they headed into the sixth. This time around, Brennan Bates started things off with a hard-hit single to the left side and shortly after, landed himself on second off of a Lutes wild pitch. Thanks to GFU's great discipline at the plate, three batters — Adam Fulton, Jayson Au Hoy, and DeBenedetto — were awarded walks which brought in Bates to score, 7-2. 

Even though GFU answered back, once again PLU was ready to respond back; after three runners were hit, all they needed was a few base hits to reach double digits and further widen the gap in the score, 12-2. It didn't take long before the Bruins were scoring again in the seventh; much like the inning before, George Fox relied on their zone awareness to put Balingit on second and BJ Tokushima on first. With two outs already down, all the pressure was on Declan Corrigan, but he was ready to make the most of the opportunity; with a driving swing, he sent a shot to center field to bring Balingit home, 7-3. 

Using their momentum from the top of the seventh, pitcher Jack Galanida and the Bruins' defense put up a one-two-three bottom of the seventh to send them into the eighth. Despite their momentum, they couldn't reproduce it in the top of the eighth. With Pacific Lutheran's offense up, all it took was a walk and a hit for the Lutes to take the game in eight innings with a score of 13-3. 

Top Performances
In all, the Bruins had a total of seven hits and eight walks throughout the game; for RBI's Evan Balingit, Declan Corrigan, and Gabe DeBenedetto had one apiece. 

What It Means
Pacific Lutheran rises to 6-8 (4-5 NWC), and George Fox is now 7-14 (5-7 NWC). 

What Happens Next
The Bruins will head back to their home turf in Newberg, Ore. for their next series against Puget Sound. The series will begin with a doubleheader on Friday, April 3; first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 pm.