Hinkson's Bases Clearing Triple Wins It For Boxers
Box ScoreFOREST GROVE –
Anthony Hinkson's (Fr., Pasco, Wash.) bases clearing triple in the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and led Pacific to a 6-2 victory over Willamette Tuesday night in baseball action at Chuck Bafaro Stadium.
Hinkson's game-winning hit came after a rather unconventional string of events that loaded the bases.
Ryan Sohn (So., Ventura, Calif.) led off with a double and was called safe at third when he beat the throw on
Colin McCusker's (Jr., Olympia, Wash.) sacrifice bunt.
Matt Hopp (Jr., Portland, Ore.) then laid down the squeeze bunt, but Sohn looked to be out in a rundown before he slid under the tag of Willamette's Hunter Gallant to return to third safely.
That set the table for Hinkson, who hammered the first pitch delivered by Jackson Watt down the right field line for the three-run triple. Hinkson later scored on
Grant Gabriel's (Sr., Honolulu, Hawaii) ground out.
Pacific (10-16) opened the game with a two-run third where the Boxers strung together four hits.
Mike Thomson (So., Yorba Linda, Calif.) led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on
Ben Duerr's (So., Lebanon, Ore.) single up the middle.
Lanson Yamamoto (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) followed with a single that scored Duerr.
Both of Willamette's (17-11) runs were of the unearned variety. The Bearcats cut the lead in half in the fourth when Tosh Semlacher scored when Shea Harrison reached on an error and tied it in the top of the seventh when Harrison singled and scored when Gallant reached on an error.
Nate Montgomery (So., Sherwood, Ore.) earned his first win of the season in his third start, allowing the two unearned runs on six hits with four walks and a strikeout.
Austin Gallagher (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) threw 2.2 innings of solid relief, allowing one hit, before giving way to
Walker Olis (So., Burlington, Wash.), who earned his first save of the season.
Watt, the last of eight different Willamette pitchers on the night, fell to 5-1 on the season. He allowed the four eighth inning runs on three hits with one strikeout.
Duerr finished 2 for 3 with a run and a RBI to lead the Boxers. Brandon Chinn led Willamette with two hits.
Pacific returns to Northwest Conference play this weekend, traveling to Whitworth for a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday.
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