Missionaries Beat Boxers In Battle Of Extra Base Hits
Game 1 Box Score |
Game 2 Box Score
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman got the best of Pacific in a battle of extra bases as the Missionaries took a doubleheader sweep of the Boxers Saturday in Northwest Conference baseball action at Borleske Stadium.
Walker Olis (Fr., Burlington, Wash.) had his third home run of the season and
Nick Tasaka (Sr., Hawaii Kai, Hawaii) had a double and a two-run single, but Whitman used a double by Maclean Harned to force extra innings and a double of Ozzy Braff in the 11th to score a 6-5 victory. In the nightcap, Kyle Moyes pounded his second homer of the day and used two doubles to lead the way in a six-run fifth inning as the Missionaries rolled to the 10-0 shutout.
The two teams combined for four home runs and six doubles in the two games.
Michael Arakaki (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii) led the Boxers offensively, finishing with four hits on the afternoon to go along with two RBIs. Pacific dropped to 8-19, 5-10 NWC, with the loss while Whitman improved to 13-15, 8-10 NWC.
GAME 1 – WHITMAN 6, PACIFIC 5 (11 INN.)
Olis opened scoring for the Boxers in third inning.
Dan Jaffe (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) led off with a single and Tasaka reached when he was hit by a pitch with two outs. That set the plate for Olis to hit his third homer of the season over the left field fence and give the Pacific the 3-0 lead.
Moyes brought the Missionaries within one run in the fourth with his two-out, two-run homer to left center field. Whitman took the lead in bottom of the seventh on a pair of RBI singles by Casey Minnick and Braff. Arakaki put Pacific back ahead in the top of the eighth when his two-run single scored Olis and
Logan Moen (Sr., Brier, Wash.), but Harned tied it at 5-5 when his double to right field scored Cameron Young.
Whitman put the winning run on second base with one out against Pacific starter
Rob Dittrick (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii), but reliever
Craig Nesselhuf (Fr., Littleton, Colo.) coaxed Aaron Cohen and Young into ground outs to force extra innings.
Pacific had a chance to take the lead back in the 11th inning when
Ben Duerr (Fr., Lebanon, Ore.) reached on a fielder's choice with two outs and then moved to third on a wild pitch.
Donnie Bradley (So., Beaverton, Ore.) then grounded out on a bunt attempt to the end the threat. Whitman then took advantage as Kyle Buckham singled with two outs and scored on Braff's double.
Nesselhuf took his first loss in his first decision, allowing the winning run on two hits with one strikeout in 2.1 innings. Dittrick, the starter, allowed five runs on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 8.1 innings. Cohen improved to 2-0 on the season for Whitman, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out two in 3.1 innings of relief. Buckham, Braff, Moyes and Casey Minnick all had two hits for the Missionaries.
GAME 2 - WHITMAN 10, PACIFIC 0
Whitman pitchers Spencer Hobson and Tyler Grisdale did their part to keep Pacific off the bases as they limited the Boxers to just four hits in the nightcap and allowed just one runner past second base.
The Missionaries wasted little time getting on the board. Buckham led off the bottom of the first with a double down the right field line and scored on Young's fielder's choice. Moyes made it a 2-0 with a solo home run to lead off the second inning and Jimmy Madden made it a 3-0 game in the fourth, leading off with a single and scoring on Paul Heywood's sacrifice fly.
Whitman put the game away with a six run fifth inning. Buckham walked and Braff singled to lead off the inning and Cohen scored both of them on a double to left center field. Young added a single before Madden scored two more with another double to left center field. Madden later scored on Heywood's single and Moyes made it a 9-0 Missionaries' lead when he plated on Buckham's sacrifice fly. Minnick added one more run for Whitman in the ninth when his solo homer to left field.
Nick Morton (Fr., Burbank, Calif.) took his first loss of the season for the Boxers, allowing three runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in four innings of work. Hobson improved to 4-0 with the win for Whitman, allowing three hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.
The two teams will finish off their three-game series with a single game on Sunday at noon.
