NEWBERG, Ore. – A come-from-behind victory in the opener of a Monday afternoon twinbill helped earn Whitman College a split on the day with host George Fox University in Northwest Conference baseball action at Morse Field. The Missionaries rallied with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take a 3-2 Game 1 victory, but the host Bruins picked up strong outing on the mound to bounce back with a 4-0 win in the nightcap.
Will Thompson nearly went the distance for Whitman (3-12, 2-7 NWC) in the opener, falling only one batter short allowing
Henry Lin to earn the save with a strikeout of the only Bruin (10-10, 7-5) he faced.
George Fox picked up its initial run of the day in the bottom of the third in an otherwise stellar inning from Thompson. Two strikeouts brought up the dangerous Zach Rapacz, whose grand slam won Sunday's game. Rapacz lashed a home run off Thompson over the left field fence to push Fox up one run, but Thompson came right back and struck out the next batter to end the frame.
An inning-opening error in the bottom of the fourth led to an unearned run off Thompson that increased the Bruins' lead to 2-0.
That deficit was halved in the top of the fifth when
Jonny Chow worked Fox starter Sean Eberhardt for a two-out walk. Chow moved up a base on a single to left by
MacLean Harned, then scored on an RBI-single to left by
Adrian Vela.
More two-out magic brought in the tying run in the top of the sixth.
Joseph Zimmer singled up the middle and moved to second with
Nick Johnson's walk.
Braden Hussey then pounded an Eberhardt offering into left field for an RBI single that brought Zimmer in from second.
Though Eberhardt working himself out of the jam in the sixth that was his last inning as Michael Hirko took over to start the top of the seventh.
Hirko registered one out but surrendered a single to left by Vela.
Anthony Lim also singled to left which spelled the end of Hirko's day. In came Nathan Higa who promptly walked
Paul Heywood to load the bases.
Peter Carmichael reached safely on a grounder to third that eliminated Lim at the bag but allowed Vela to race home for the go-ahead run. A walk to Zimmer finished Higa as Tom Zarosinkski jogged to the mound as the third Bruins pitcher in the inning. Zarosinkski induced an infield ground-out to end the inning but the come-back was complete.
Now all the Missionaries had to do was finish it off in the field.
Thompson worked through a 1-2-3 inning in eighth, finishing it with a strikeout, then picked up the first two outs of the ninth before trouble began. He walked the next batter and an infield error then led to runners at first and second. Head coach
Sean Kinney went to the bullpen though, bringing in
Henry Lin to face…Rapacz.
This time Lin and Whitman came out the victor as Lin struck out Rapacz to slam the door on the Bruins.
The top of the order had a solid outing in the opener as Vela, Lim and Heywood each finished with two hits.
Game 2 was more about the job Fox starting pitcher Taylor Dunn put on display. He pitched a complete-game shutout allowing three hits and a walk while fanning 12.
The Bruins picked up their first run on the first batter to face
Jack Coppinger. The lead-off home run in the bottom of the first proved to be all Dunn would need, though Fox would pick up three more runs in their 4-0 win.
The weekend weather that forced the three-game set at Fox to move from Saturday-Sunday to Sunday-Monday also forced a postponement of the next games on the Whitman schedule, a double-header at the College of Idaho that has been indefinitely postponed. The Missionaries next take to the field Saturday and Sunday with a three-game series against visiting Pacific Lutheran University. Saturday's doubleheader at Borleske Stadium is set for a noon start, and Sunday's single game against the Lutes is also set for a noon start.
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