TACOMA, Wash. – An eight-run second inning sparked Whitman College to an 8-5 Northwest Conference win Sunday at Logger Field where the Missionaries were able to take the final game of a three-game set against host University of Puget Sound.

The Missionaries (5-18, 4-11 NWC) sent 13 batters to the plate and knocked out Puget Sound (12-12, 10-6) starting pitcher Merle Rowan-Kennedy after he recorded only five outs.

Nick Johnson stepped to the plate twice in the second inning, leading off the frame with a single down the right-field line -- eventually scoring on Braden Hussey's single to right -- then doubling in Joseph Zimmer and Anthony Lim later in the inning with two outs.

Patience at the plate proved fruitful for Whitman in its big inning as Missionary batters waited out Rowan-Kennedy, working him for four walks and adding one more against reliever David Follett. Though the five walks produced only two of the eight runs, they kept the inning alive for the lively bats that did collect four singles along with Johnson's two-RBI double.

The eight-run cushion allowed Missionary starter Will Thompson to work from a position of strength against Puget Sound batters that knew they didn't have the same luxury of patience as Whitman's hitters exhibited in the second.

The Loggers did chip away at Thompson with a run in the bottom of the second, another in the fifth followed by two more in the sixth. A bases-loaded jam in the seventh, on three Loggers singles, ended Thompson's day. Reliever Garrett Atkinson allowed an infield single that allowed one more run to cross the plate, charged against Thompson, but Atkinson then cut short the thought of any more runs with an easy ground-out to second that ended the inning.

The seventh-inning infield single was the only blemish on Atkinson's afternoon as he didn't allow another base runner over his final two innings of work to earn his first save of the season. Thompson improved his record to 3-1 on the year with Sunday's win after lasting 6 and 2-3 innings while surrendering five runs on 12 hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

Johnson finished the day with three hits, scored twice and collected two RBIs with his double in the second. Designated hitter John Lyon contributed a pair of hits and an RBI while scoring once. Jonny Chow, Lim, Hussey and Court Osborn added one RBI apiece for Whitman which ended the day with nine hits.

Rowan-Kennedy (4-3) lasted only 13 batters over 1 and 2-3 innings. He was charged with all eight runs, seven of which were earned, after allowing five hits and four walks while fanning one.

Whitman returns home for a three-game conference series against Lewis & Clark College ahead of Easter Sunday. The Missionaries and Pioneers will play two beginning at 12 p.m. Friday followed by a single game Saturday at noon.