Pitching Wins Game One, Errors & Home Runs Win Game Two
Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box Score
TACOMA, Wash. – Pacific once again used the solid pitching of
Rob Dittrick (So., Mililani, Hawaii) to stake a win in the opener, but a costly error allowed Pacific Lutheran's bats to get the job done in the nightcap as the two teams split a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday at the PLU Field.
Dittrick won his fifth decision in a row and his third complete game of the season, allowing one run on seven hits as the Boxers rolled to an 8-1 victory in game one. Pacific was able to use small ball to keep pace in the second game before a two-out error in the eight opened the door for a Jacob Hoffman three-run homer to give the Lutes the 7-5 win.
Pacific(12-6, 8- 3 NWC) opened scoring in game one in the first on a
Chad Fahey (Jr., Keizer, Ore.) that scored
Kevin Schwartz (Jr., Milwaukie, Ore.), but the Lutes tied it an inning later when Brock Gates, who led off with a single, eventually scored on Hoffman's sacrifice fly.
The Boxers added a run in the fifth inning when
Michael Arakaki (So., Mililani, Hawaii) hit a double, moved up a base on
Travis Koon's (Fr., Albany, Ore.) infield single, and then scored on a ground out by Schwartz. PLU had a chance to tie it in the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out, but what would have been Ryan Aratani's deep sacrifice fly was instead turned into an inning-ending double play by a base-running blunder.
That opened the door to a pair of three-run innings by the Boxers in the eighth and ninth. In the eighth,
Jared Van Hoon (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) led off with a single and later stole home when
Mike Nagamine (Jr., Aiea, Hawaii), who had singled, got in a rundown. Nagamine reached second on an error during the rundown, and he scored on Fahey's double. Pinch runner
Sam Kaplan (Fr., Salt Lake City, Utah) later scored on a Lutes throwing error.
Kaplan accounted for Pacific's runs in the ninth, blasting a three-run homer over the fence in left field.
Dittrick improved to 5-1 with the victory and had three strikeouts in the complete game effort. The Boxers had 12 hits in support of Dittrick, led by a 3 for 5 performance by Koon. Max Beatty took the loss for PLU, dropping to 2-1. He allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in 7.1 innings.
The Boxers opened game two with the lead when Koon singled, advanced to third on Schwartz's single and then scored on a Van Hoon fielder's choice. In the bottom of the first, the Lutes got the long ball going. Jaron Iwakami and Corey Moore drew walks on starter
Jason Sawyer (Fr., Scappoose, Ore.) before Gates smashed a three-run homer to left field. The Boxers got a run back in the third when Nagamine hit a two-out RBI single after Schwartz had led off the frame with a double.
The teams traded runs in the sixth, Pacific scoring an unearned run on
Nick Tasaka's (So., Hawaii Kai, Hawaii) pinch hit sacrifice fly, and the Lutes getting theirs on a sacrifice fly by Nicholas Hall. Hoffman was hit by a pitch and Ryan Frost hit a single before both runners were moved up a base by Zack Halverson's sacrifice bunt, leading to Hall's run-producing fly ball.
Pacific again tied the game, this time at 4-4, with a run in the seventh inning. Schwartz hit a one-out single, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Van Hoon's ground out.
That led to Hoffman's game-deciding three-run blast in the seventh inning, but the three runs were unearned after a two-out error on Ryan Aratani's ground ball. Hoffman stepped into the box and promptly drilled the ball over the left field fence.
Pacific got a run back in the eighth when Nagamine hit a double and eventually scored on
Trux French's (So., Kennewick. Wash.) ground out, and it had the tying run on second base in the top of the ninth when Johansen coaxed
Anson Arakaki (So., Hilo, Hawaii) to swing at a ball in the dirt for the third and final out.
Dan Wolfe (Sr., Warrenton, Ore.) took the hard luck loss for the Boxers in relief, allowing the three unearned runs in the seventh on four hits in two innings of work as he dropped to 1-2 on the year. Johansen went the distance in the win for the Lutes, allowing five runs, four earned, on 10 hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Schwartz went 4 for 5 with two runs to lead the Boxers, while Hoffman went 2 for 3 with two runs and three runs batted in for the Lutes.
The two teams will conclude their three-game series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
Pacific Lutheran SID Nick Dawson contributed to this report.
