The Pacific University baseball team split a doubleheader with Whittier College at Chuck Bafaro Stadium in Forest Grove on Saturday. Pacific won game one by a 10-2 margin before Whittier came back to win the nightcap, 12-7.

The doubleheader split puts the Boxers at 17-9 and the Poets at 10-9 on the 2019 season. Plus, Pacific is now 8-6 in non-conference action and 11-6 in games played at the friendly confines of Chuck Bafaro Stadium.
 
Game one saw the Boxers score the final eight runs after Whittier tied the game at two in the top of the fifth. The Boxer offense came away with 12 hits for its 11^th double-digit hit game and second-straight contest. Drew Fagerness, Brad Altomare (pictured) and Chase Anderson each had two hits to spark the attack. Altomare also scored four runs and Fagerness and reserve R.J. Gordon each had two RBIs.
 
The offense gave plenty of support to starting pitcher Sam Lawrence, who improved to 5-1 with a seven-inning outing. The senior left hander allowed ten hits, two runs (both earned) and reaped the benefits of two double plays turned by his defense.
 
Tied at 2 in the bottom of the fifth, RBI singles by Altomare and Fagerness put the Boxers back in front by a 4-2 margin. With a two-run lead, Pacific added to its lead with three runs each in the seventh and eighth inning for the final margin. The Boxers' closer Derek Ridgway closed out the game, pitching the final two innings of one-hit relief.
 
Game two saw Whittier score seven runs in the top of the ninth to come back from a 6-5 deficit en route to a 12-7 win in the nightcap and secure the conference series. It was the first time that the Boxers had lost in 2019 after leading thru eight innings. In the inning, the Poets sent 10 batters to bat, scoring seven runs on seven hits.
 
The Boxers had eight hits against five-different pitchers for Whittier; meanwhile, the Poets had 13 hits against four Boxer pitchers. Hayden Wright had a team-high two hits for Pacific in the loss.
 
After an early 3-0 deficit, the Boxers came back with two runs each in the first two innings for a 4-3 lead. Then, the Boxers added to its lead with a run in the fourth inning without a hit as they capitalized on a pair of Whittier errors. The Poets scored a run in the seventh and in the eighth to tie the game at 5. Pacific regained the lead in its half of the eighth. Pinch hitter Drew Fagerness reached on an error. Then, an errant pickoff attempt by the Poets moved pinchrunner Derek Legeza all the way to third. Next, Von Ferguson ripped a single just past the Poets' shortstop for the go-ahead run and put Pacific ahead 6-5.
 
Trailing by one run in the ninth, the Poets came away with seven runs in the top of the ninth. The Boxers got its final run of the game on a RBI single by Hayden Wright for the final margin.
 
The Boxers will next host Lewis & Clark on Tuesday in a non-conference game at 6 p.m. at Chuck Bafaro Stadium.