TACOMA, Wash. – Pacific came up on the wrong end of a pitcher's duel in the first game of the day at Pacific Lutheran, but they turned things around when they went up the road to Puget Sound and prevailed in what proved to be a slugfest, taking the contest 19-11.
The Boxers (28-15, 14-10 NWC) mustered just four hits at PLU but the bats caught fire in the afternoon. Pacific banged out 19 hits and four homers, including two grand slams, to score 19 runs in its impressive offensive display.
Tyler Quinn (Junior/Mililani, HI) had a monster day at the plate, mashing two homers including a grand slam in Pacific's win over UPS. He went 5-for-9 with six RBI, increasing his home run total to seven for the 2022 season.
CJ Colyer (Sophomore/Gilroy, CA) was huge in game two, going 3-for-5 with a grand slam. The outfielder racked up six RBI and scored two runs.
Nolan McNeill (Senior/San Tan Valley, AZ) was a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish with a pair of two baggers.
Patrick Muskat (Redshirt Freshman/Beaverton, OR) scored four times against Puget Sound, enjoying a three-hit day at the plate while driving in two runs.
Game 1 – Pacific Lutheran
After two scoreless frames to start the contest, Pacific Lutheran opened the scoring in the bottom of the third. The Lutes capitalized on an error, tabbing
Will Clark (Junior/Boise, ID) for an unearned run to take the lead.
While the Boxers struggled at the plate, the hosts scored twice in the fifth to extend their lead to 3-0.
Pacific finally answered in the sixth when Quinn smacked a two-run homer to bring the Boxers within one.
Clark was solid in his 13
th start of the year, throwing five innings and surrendering just one earned run. The southpaw allowed just four hits and struck out three. He was relieved by
Tyler Agnew (Junior/Folsom, CA) in the home half of the sixth.
Agnew tossed two scoreless innings before handing the ball over to
Joey Harmon (Sophomore/Scottsdale, AZ) in the ninth. Harmon navigated his way out of a jam to give the Boxers a shot to respond.
Pacific went down in order in their final turn at the plate and the Lutes would come away with the one-run victory. Pacific Lutheran's left-hander, Tommy Snyder, kept the Boxers off-balance for all of his 8.1 innings of work, holding the Red and Black to just four hits to earn the win.
Game 2 – Puget Sound
The Boxers got started early in the second game of the day, using five consecutive two-out hits to push four runs across.
Ty Yukumoto (Freshman/Waipahu, H) ripped a double down the right field line and
Ryan Krout (Senior/Washougal, WA) followed with a base hit to center to score the freshman from second base. Pacific kept the rally alive when Muskat flipped one to right field and scampered into second base with a double. McNeill plated two more runs with his double to left and Colyer capped off the rally with a solid line drive to right field, making it a 4-0 ballgame.
Liam Cammall (Senior/San Diego, CA) toed the rubber to make his first start of the season. He collected two quick outs in the bottom half of the inning but Puget Sound answered with a two-out rally of their own. Two hits and an error would allow the hosts to get a run back.
After the Loggers tacked on another run in the second,
David Allen (Junior/Keizer, OR) replaced Cammall on the hill to make his 12
th appearance of 2022.
Puget Sound's Jonas Kim gave his team the lead with a grand slam, making the score 6-4 at the end of two frames.
UPS added another run in the fourth and Head Coach
Brian Billings would call upon
Davis Koester (Sophomore/Trout Lake, WA) to stop the threat. He induced the 6-4-3 double play to finally end the inning but the Loggers had extended their lead to four after four innings played.
The Boxers cut the deficit when McNeill picked up his third hit of the game and Muskat stepped to the plate and launched a two-run bomb over the left field wall, bringing Pacific within two.
Robert Drayer (Senior/Makawao,HI) laced a double to left field to bring
Max Nealon (Senior/Redmond, WA) around to score and Pacific completed their comeback when Quinn blasted a grand slam, his second homer of the day. This capped off a seven-run fifth inning for the Boxers as they restored their lead.
Three straight hits from Muskat, McNeill, and Colyer to start the sixth allowed Pacific to extend their advantage. The offensive explosion continued when Drayer hit his third long ball of the season, a two-run shot to make it 15-8.
The slugfest rolled into the bottom half of the inning when the Loggers scored twice to cut the lead to five runs.
In the top of the seventh, Colyer hit Pacific's second grand slam of the game to push the lead to 19-10.
Nick Bentsen (Senior/Bellevue, WA) came on to pitch in the sixth inning and tossed two innings, allowing just one run.
Sage Dunaway (Junior/Sherwood, OR) got the final three outs and shut the door in the ninth.
By The Numbers
- This is the second time this season Pacific has hit two grand slams in the same game.
- The Boxers are 22-0 when they score seven or more runs in a game.
Up Next
The Boxers will stay in Tacoma for tomorrow's regular season finale against Willamette. First pitch at Logger Baseball Field is slated for 11 a.m.
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