FOREST GROVE, Ore. – The first Northwest Conference series of the season for Pacific University Baseball would be decided in the rubber match, but Pacific Lutheran would edge the Boxers 4-3 in the 11-inning affair.
Pacific (6-4, 1-2 NWC) missed too opportunities at the plate, stranding 13 runners in the series finale. The Boxers were just 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position despite seeing six of their 11 leadoff hitters reach base.
Pacific Lutheran (6-2, 2-1 NWC) pitched very well down the stretch, holding Pacific to just one run over the last nine innings. Andy Schmitz and Jordan Haworth each enjoyed three-hit days to lead the Lutes offensively
The Boxers recorded 11 hits in the contest with
Andrew Thomas (Senior/Escondido, CA) and
Isaac Lovings (Senior/Beaverton, OR) each banging out three hits on the afternoon. Thomas registered an RBI while scoring a run while Lovings drove home two runs in his first at bat.
Ty Yukumoto (Freshman/Waipahu, HI) racked up his second consecutive two-hit game as the shortstop went 2-for-6.
Derek Eubanks (Senior/Oregon City, OR) got the nod and put together a solid outing, allowing just two runs in his five innings of work. The senior punched out five batters and surrendered six hits.
How It Happened
The Boxers struck first in the bottom half of the second inning when Lovings roped a base hit up the middle to score
Damon Tanner (Sophomore/El Dorado Hills, CA) and Thomas, making it a 2-0 ballgame.
Errors would plague Pacific in the top of the third and PLU would capitalize with an unearned run to cut the lead in half.
The Lutes would take the lead in the fifth inning when they rallied for four straight hits with two outs. This gave the visitors a 3-2 lead, chasing Eubanks out of the game in the process.
Tyler Agnew (Junior/Folsom, CA) was the next Boxer to toe the rubber and was fantastic in his relief outing, tossing three innings of scoreless baseball. The Folsom, Calif. native fanned four hitters while scattering three hits.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh,
Cole Strober (Senior/Pacific City, OR) reached on a field choice. He would steal second base and force an errant throw into centerfield, allowing him to advance to third. Thomas stepped up to the plate and ripped a groundball through the left side to even the score at 3-3.
Pacific loaded the bases in the home half of the eighth but were unable to get the big hit to plate the go-ahead run.
Liam Cammall (Senior/San Diego, CA) came on to pitch in the closing stages. He pitched two solid frames before the Lutes finally pushed a run across in the top of the 11
th to take the lead.
PLU would snatch the 4-3 victory in the series finale to take two of three games from the Boxers.
Up Next
The Boxers continue their NWC slate next weekend when they head to Tacoma, Wash. to face Puget Sound for a three-game set starting on Feb. 26. First pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on
Facebook,
Instagram and
Twitter.
#GoBoxers
