SPOKANE, Wash. — Second-place Pacific came within one half inning of a sweep of Northwest Conference leader Whitworth but instead had to settle for a split in baseball action on Saturday at Merkel Field.
The No. 10/8 nationally ranked Pirates remain two games ahead of the Boxers in the NWC standings. The two clubs will play a single game on Sunday at noon.
All day long, Pacific used the long ball to put runs on the board, even in a low scoring first game.
Walker Olis hit a solo shot in the first inning and
Kurtis Kloke blasted a long bomb in the sixth to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. For seven innings, it looked like that would be all the offense Boxer starting pitcher
Paul Wolfram would need.
Wolfram cruised through seven stanzas, allowing only six hits and two walks, while striking out six. He worked out of his only major trouble to that point in the fourth inning when the Pirates loaded the bases, but a ground ball double play got him out of that jam.
But the roof caved in the eighth inning. Jeremy Druffel broke the shutout with a solo home run with one out in the inning. One walk later, pinch-hitter Rich Bird doubled a teammate to third base, putting the tying and winning runs in scoring position.
Joel Condreay followed with a two-run single to chase Wolfram from the game and essentially sew up the contest for the Pirates.
Wolfram was the hard-luck loser (5-4) while Avery Milyard (4-0) got the win in relief for Whitworth, allowing just one hit in two innings of work.
Ben Duerr and
Kane Ulrich had two hits each to supplement Pacific's home run offense.
In the second game, the Boxers continued its homer barrage with four, two-run shots. Olis and Kloke connected again--Olis again hitting his in the first inning. That was his eight home run of the year and the tenth for Kloke.
Nathan Suyematsu put one over the fence in the fifth inning and Duerr knocked one out in the sixth.
Pacific scored two runs in the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, and then added three more in the ninth.
On the mound,
Sam Lawrence had plenty of run support but also did his part as well. He picked up his fourth win of the year (4-2), going seven innings and allowing only seven hits, three earned runs and four walks. He also fanned four Pirate batters.
Duerr had three hits in the second game, giving him five on the day. Kloke also had three hits in game two and knocked in a pair of runs, giving him 47 RBI on the season. That total and his 10 home runs lead the NWC.
Olis had two hits in the second game, as did Suyematsu. Both also drove in three runs. Olis also had a stolen base in game one, adding to his school-record total of 24. His two home runs gives him eight on the year.
