Rowland Leads Boxers In Twinbill Split With Menlo
Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box Score
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. –
Scott Rowland's (Sr., Salem, Ore.) two run homer in the seventh inning of game one proved to be the game-winner as the Boxers split their Saturday baseball doubleheader with Menlo at St. Francis High School.
Rowland hit his two-run shot over the left field wall with two outs in the frame, scoring the winning runs in a 4-2 opening game victory. Menlo came back with pitching in the nightcap as four hurlers combined for a two-hitter to win 10-2.
Rob Dittrick (So., Mililani, Hawaii) improved to 6-1 in the opener, earning his first win in four outings without going the distance. He allowed no runs on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in six innings.
Jared Van Hoon (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) earned his fourth save of the year, allowing just two hits and two walks with one strikeout in three innings of work.
After a pitcher's duel between Dittrick and Menlo starter Sean Sweeney dominated the first three innings, the Boxers (13-8) broke through in the top of the fourth.
Kevin Schwartz (Jr., Milwaukie, Ore.) singled with one out and later scored when he stole third and came home on an error. In the seventh,
Logan Moen (So., Brier, Wash.) singled with two outs and Rowland followed with his first home run of the season.
Menlo (15-10) scored two in the home half of the seventh after loading the bases against reliever
Rylan Tomita (So., Honolulu, Hawaii). Michael Brandi scored on a single by Ty Finley and Will Pierce plated on a bases loaded walk.
Sweeney took the loss for Menlo, falling to 5-2 on the year. He allowed four runs, two earned, on nine hits with a walk and four strikeouts in eight innings. Van Hoon and Moen each went 2 for 3 to lead Pacific at the plate. Six different players had the Oaks' hits.
Pacific opened game two with a run in the first when Schwartz singled and later scored on a ground out. The two hits in the first were the only ones the Boxers would get as Menlo's pitching shut down the offense.
The Oaks, meanwhile, opened things up with a five-run third inning, bolstered by a pair of two-run doubles by Collin Forgey and Chris Mazza. Menlo added two more in the fifth on a two-run single by Pierce, one in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and two more in the eighth on a two-run single by Joel Hull.
Dustin Christensen (Fr., Riverton, Utah) took the loss in his second start, falling to 0-1 on the year. He allowed five runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout in three innings. Derek Martines was the winner as he, John Scott, Jon Rand and James Threw combined for the two-hitter. In six innings, Martines allowed one run on two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Hull, Forgey, Mazza and Brandi all had two hits for Menlo, with Hull and Forgey going 2 for 3 with two runs and two runs batted in each. Schwartz and Van Hoon had the two Pacific hits.
The games were the first two in a four-game series between the Boxers and Oaks. The first game was scheduled to be played Friday with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. The series was changed to two doubleheaders after a Friday rainout.
