McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Will Clark (Junior/Boise, ID) tossed seven shutout innings to lift Pacific over Linfield in the series opener. The Boxers' bats went quiet in game two and the Wildcats came away with the 4-2 win to even the series.
Pacific's ace earned his fourth win of the season and it made it 16 consecutive innings of scoreless baseball after his incredible outing on Saturday afternoon. Clark struck out nine batters, the second-most punchouts the left-hander has posted this season. The Boise, Idaho native surrendered just three hits, had great command off the strike zone, and kept the Wildcats' hitters off-balance for most of the contest.
The Boxers (15-10, 10-7 NWC) hung on to take game one despite a late scare from the hosts. Linfield whittled the lead to just one run and loaded the bases in the ninth, but some heroics from closer
Liam Cammall (Senior/San Diego, CA) allowed Boxer fans to breathe a sigh of relief.
Pacific's leading home run hitter,
Ryan Krout (Senior/Washougal, WA), blasted his seventh homer of the year with a solo shot in the eighth inning of game one.
Isaac Lovings (Senior/Beaverton, OR) was the other Boxer to hit a big fly, smashing a ball over the centerfield wall for his fifth homer this season.
Game 1
Clark struck out the side in the first inning to begin his masterful outing. Pacific would then take the lead when Krout's groundball scored
Damon Tanner (Sophomore/El Dorado Hills, CA) to break the deadlock.
Lovings showed off his cannon by gunning down a runner attempting to swipe third base in the bottom of third. This allowed Clark to navigate his way through the two-on, no-out jam, preserving the Boxers' lead.
With two outs in the fourth,
Brad Altomare (Senior/San Ramon, CA) doubled the Pacific lead when he ripped his third triple of the season into the right-center gap to plate
Max Nealon (Senior/Redmond, WA).
Pacific's southpaw continued to cruise as he retired eight consecutive batters, fanning two of three in the sixth frame. Clark got through the seventh inning to complete his day after 124 pitches of brilliance.
Krout added some insurance in the top of the eighth, driving a ball over the wall in right-center for his seventh homer of the year.
Head Coach
Brian Billings would hand the ball over to
David Allen (Junior/Keizer, OR) and the righty would pitch a scoreless eighth before getting into some trouble in the ninth. A walk and a single ended Allen's day, bringing Cammall to the hill. He recorded a strike out and fly out before a double, walk, and hit-by-pitch would allow Linfield to load the bases.
The Boxers led by just one run with two outs in the ninth and found themselves one pitch away from surrendering their lead. Despite falling behind 3-0 in the count, Cammall would fight back to punch out the final batter of the game, earning his third save of the season and giving Pacific the victory in the series opener.
Game 2
Another pitcher's duel would commence in the second half of the doubleheader when
Kahi Bisho (Senior/Honolulu, HI) and Linfield's John Over went toe-to-toe for the first four innings. Both starters threw four scoreless frames until the Wildcats opened the scoring with a three-run bomb in the bottom half of the fifth.
Lovings launched a solo home run in the sixth inning, his fifth of the year. The Boxers pushed one more across in the ninth, but it was too little, too late and the hosts took game two to split the twin bill.
Up Next
The series finale will take place tomorrow afternoon in McMinnville, first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
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