WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The George Fox baseball team closed out its three-game series against the Whitman Blues, taking an early six-run lead but ultimately falling in an 8-7 loss.
How It Happened
Much like each of the first two games of the series, the Blues struck first, scoring on a solo home run in the bottom of the first. The next two innings were scoreless as GFU starter
Michael Singleton struck out four of the eight batters he faced.
The Bruins warmed up quickly in the fourth inning — and took the lead in a big way.
Adam Fulton was second up to the plate for Fox and showed good plate discipline, drawing a walk. Fulton stayed on first while
Andre Butler came to the plate and homered up and over left field to put Fox ahead, 2-0.
Gabe DeBenedetto was up next and wasted no time; on the first pitch he saw, the senior copied his teammate and hit his ball over the left field fence for the Bruins' second straight home run. In what could only be described as a state of deja vu, Marasco kept the momentum rolling and hit another home run over left field, giving Fox back-to-back-to-back home runs and putting the Bruins up, 4-1.
Fox wasn't done and stayed on top of the Blues in the fifth. After
BJ Tokushima walked and
Brennan Bates was hit by a pitch, Fulton walked to load the bases. Butler came up to the plate and also drew a walk, scoring Tokushima. On a wild pitch by the Blues, Bates took the opportunity and raced to home plate to make the score 6-1. Whitman then tossed another wild pitch, and that was all that was needed for Fulton to score and give Fox a six-run lead, 7-1.
The sixth inning ended scoreless, and things looked up for GFU, but the seventh was a different story. The Blues' Whitman tallied three hits in the innings and drew a pair of walks, scoring three runs to get back in the game, 7-4.
The eighth proved to be a similar story for Fox. Whitman quickly put runners on first and third, scoring a run on an RBI single. Though
Andrew Miller was able to get the Bruins out of the jam, the Blues still scored one additional run, inching even closer, 7-6.
Fulton tried to get the Bruins back on track with a single, but didn't get an opportunity to advance further. The bottom of the ninth spelled disaster for Fox, as the Bruins failed to register an out in the inning. Whitman led off with a pair of singles, and an error led the Blues runners on second and third. Whitman then scored on a wild pitch, before the Blues' Landon Runyan completed the comeback with a walk-off RBI single, breaking the Bruins' hearts and turning GFU's 7-1 lead into an 8-7 loss.
Top Performances
Andre Butler,
Gabe DeBenedetto, and Joey Marasoc each had a home run, with all three dingers coming back-to-back-to-back. Butler would lead the team in RBI with three, while
Adam Fulton scored two runs. On the mound,
Michael Singleton struck out eight.
What It Means
The Bruins are 5-8 (3-3) overall. The Blues are 4-7 (1-2 NWC) overall. Despite the loss on Sunday, Fox still claims the season series, 2-1, thanks to a pair of Saturday victories.
What Comes Next
The Bruins will take a break from playing against Northwest Conference competitors and face Western Oregon at home on Tuesday, March 10, at 2:00 p.m.
