The Pacific University baseball team snapped an eight-game losing streak in a 7-2 win over Pacific Lutheran on Sunday at Chuck Bafaro Stadium in Forest Grove.
The Boxers (14-23), who honored its eight seniors prior to its game against the Lutes on Satuday, pounded out 11 hits with three-different Boxers have multiple hits in the win.
Senior
Josh Keithly (Mission Viejo, Calif.) went 2-for-3 with a career-high four RBI to lead an 11-hit attack. Also with two hits were sophomore
Eli Wisdom (La Grande, Ore.) and junior
Dylan Wright (Gilbert, Ariz.), plus junior
Brandon Henderson (Pearl City, Hawaii) added two RBI. All the offense gave ample support to junior
Paul Wolfram (Las Vegas, Nev.), who nearly went the distance. Wolfram pitched eight innings, scattering six hits, two runs (one earned) and struck out six to improve to 5-6. Junior
Cole Kanazawa (Honolulu, Hawaii) pitched a scoreless ninth to get his first save of the season.
Senior Josh Keithly went 2-for-3 with a career-high four RBI to lead an 11-hit attack.
The Lutes (25-14) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before surrendering seven unanswered runs to the host Boxers. PLU starting pitcher Lopez went less than an inning, allowing three hits, two runs (two earned) in the loss to fall to 0-2. The Lutes used four pitchers and spread six hits among five players in the defeat.
After an early 1-0 deficit, the Boxers came back with two runs on three hits with two outs to take its first lead of the day. Designated hitter
Drew Fagerness (Centralia, Wash.) and Keithly each had a RBI single for the early lead for Pacific.
They added to their lead with three runs on just one hit – a two-RBI single by Henderson – in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. The Boxers stretched the lead to 5-1 in the six with a RBI single by Keithly. Then, Pacific plated its final run in the eighth on a RBI sacrifice fly by Keithly.
Paul Wolfram pitched eight innings, scattering six hits, two runs (one earned) and struck out six to improve to 5-6.
PLU got back on the scoreboard when they plated an unearned run off Wolfram in the top of the ninth. After facing the first three batters in the top of the ninth, the Boxers went to Kanazawa, who retired the next three in order to preserve the 7-2 win and pick up the save.
The Boxers end the 2017 season on Monday with a 4 p.m. non-conference game against George Fox University in Newberg.
