WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Not again.
For the second consecutive game, Pacific's bullpen blew a lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. After tying the game with a two-out solo home run to left field, Whitworth sent the Boxers home in the 10th inning with an 11-10 walk-off victory Saturday.
The 2024 Northwest Conference Tournament elimination game went back-and-forth with Pacific scoring two runs in the top of the first and Whitworth answering with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
After
Ty Yukumoto homered to lead off the game,
Matt Gibbs scored on a
Benjamin Lewis RBI single to center field.
CJ Colyer and Gibbs hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning to give the Boxers a 4-3 lead.
Trailing 7-4, Gibbs hit a three-run homer to tie the game at 7-7 in the fifth inning.
After the Pirates scored a run in the bottom of the fifth and sixth to go up 9-7, Pacific answered with three runs in the top of the eighth.
Walker Matthews scored on a
Colby Podratz RBI single to left field.
Dawson Tokishi then drove home Yukumoto and
Zaine Gushiken with a single to center field to give the Boxers a 10-9 lead.
On the mound, Pacific senior Ayden Ruminksi got the final out of the sixth inning and then pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth. After retiring the first two Whitworth batters in the bottom of the ninth, Ruminski allowed a solo home run to Elijah Tanner.
At the plate, Tokishi went 4-for-6 with two doubles, a run and two RBIs. Gibbs finished 2-for-5 with two home runs, three runs, four RBIs and a stolen base.
Pacific finishes the 2024 season with a 25-16 record.
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
Instagram and
Twitter.
#GoBoxers
