The Pacific University baseball team lost to Linfield, 3-2 (11 innings) and Pacific Lutheran, 10-1 on Saturday at Chuck Bafaro Stadium in Forest Grove.
The Boxers, who fall to 13-23 on the season, honored its eight seniors prior to first pitch of the PLU contest. The eight seniors have all played a key role in the Pacific program, both on and off the field.
To begin the day, the Boxers played in its fifth extra-inning game of the season as they out hit Linfield by a 10-7 margin in the defeat. The 10 hits could not make a winner out of Pacific senior
Spencer Backstrom (Bellingham, Wash.), who was not involved in the decision. In his final home start, Backstrom went 6.2 innings, scattering just four hits, two runs (one earned) and struck out 10.
Linfield scored a run in the seventh to tie the game at two and pushed across the winning run in the 11
th on a two-out RBI double. The Boxers managed to mount a threat in its half of the inning when
Dylan Wright (Gilbert, Ariz.) singled through the right side to start the inning; then he moved to second on a
Dustin Meyer (Silverton, Ore.) sacrifice bunt. Next, a ground out moved the tying run to third before a full count, ground out ended the game.
Three Boxers –
Joey Galeno (Tacoma, Wash.),
Luke Peevyhouse (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Wright – each had two hits in the loss. The Wildcats' Cameron Fox and Ben Andrews each had three hits to lead the seven-hit attack for Linfield.
In the final game of the day, the lone run for Pacific came when senior
Kurtis Kloke (San Bernardino, Calif.) hit his team-leading 11
th home run in the second inning.
PLU starter Chad Gideon limited the Boxers to just four hits and seven strikeouts to improve his record to 5-2. The Lutes had 15 hits in the win and scored twice in the first and third inning for an early 4-1 lead. They added to their lead with a run in the fourth and five more in the eighth for the final margin. Cole Johnson had three hits and three RBI for Pacific Lutheran in the win.
The Boxers close out the home portion of its schedule with a noon matchup against Pacific Lutheran.
