FOREST GROVE, Ore. – The Pacific University Baseball team opened their Northwest Conference slate with a doubleheader against Pacific Lutheran. The Boxers dropped the series opener before rallying for 14 hits in game two to earn the 8-4 victory.
Pacific Lutheran swung the bat very well in game one, banging out 16 hits while the Boxers mustered just eight. Pacific also left 10 runners on base as they were unable to find the big hit in the series opener.
The Boxers evened the series with a solid all-around performance in the second game of the doubleheader. Pacific's pitching staff allowed just three earned runs, silencing the PLU bats to earn their first conference victory.
Pacific racked up 14 hits in game two with six Boxers recording mutli-hit games.
Andrew Thomas (Senior/Escondido, CA) homered in the game two victory, making it three on the season for the team leader.
Ryan Krout (Senior/Washougal, WA) was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored while
Brad Altomare (Senior/San Ramon, CA) legged out a triple in his 2-for-3 day.
Ty Yukumoto (Freshman/Waipahu, HI),
Isaac Lovings (Senior/Beaverton, OR), and
Cole Strober (Senior/Pacific City, OR) each tallied two hits in the second contest.
Game 1
After a scoreless first frame, the Lutes push three runs across in the top of the second. PLU used back-to-back walks and a couple hits to give themselves an early advantage.
In the home half of the inning,
Damon Tanner (Sophomore/El Dorado Hills, CA) ripped a double down the left field line for Pacific's first hit, but the Boxers would strand runners on the corners.
The visitors tacked on another run in the top of the third, using two hits and a walk to chase starting pitcher
Will Clark (Junior/Boise, ID) out of the game.
Two consecutive doubles would bring a run to the plate for the Lutes in the top of the sixth, and they would add three more in the seventh.
Pacific finally got on the board in the bottom half of the seventh when
Tyler Quinn (Junior/Mililani, HI) and
Ryan Krout (Senior/Washougal, WA) hit back-to-back doubles.
Robert Drayer (Senior/Makawao, HI) blasted his second homer of the season in the following inning, a towering driver that cleared the wall in left-center field.
It would prove to be too little, too late for the Boxers, as Pacific Lutheran took the series opener 8-2.
Game 2
CJ Colyer (Sophomore/Gilroy, CA) drove in the first run of the ballgame with a solid single through the left side to plate
Tyler Quinn (Junior/Mililani, HI). Thomas brought two more runs across by beating out an infield hit, scoring Krout and Colyer.
The Lutes got a run back in the second but Pacific would extend their lead with two more runs in the second to make the score 5-1.
PLU answered with a couple runs in the third but a solo shot from Thomas in the home half of the inning would stifle any momentum from the visitors.
The Boxers pushed across two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach.
David Allen (Junior/Keizer, OR),
Liam Cammall (Senior/San Diego, CA) and Colyer would combine to toss innings of two-hit ball, allowing just one run.
Up Next
The Boxers will take on PLU in the series finale tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Chuck Bafaro Stadium.
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