Forest Grove, Ore. - The Pacific Boxers and the Lewis & Clark Pioneers will face off tomorrow in the NWC Baseball Championship game.
Whitman vs. Willamette
The fourth-seeded Whitman baseball team staved off elimination with a 6-2 win over third-seeded Willamette to open Saturday.
Julien Hernandez’s pitching kept the Bearcats at bay and allowed the Blues to build their lead. Hernandez worked seven complete innings and earned the win after allowing one run on nine hits with three strikeouts. An error by the Bearcats allowed the Blues to get two unearned runs in the first inning, followed by another in the second. Beck Maguire led the Blues with four hits and two runs. Rylan Burigsay pitched the final two innings, allowing one inning to secure the win.
Jeff Hoffman led the Bearcats at bat with three hits. Willamette Pitcher Steven Verespey allowed three runs, all earnearned on eight hits in four complete innings.
Pacific vs. Lewis & Clark
In the second game of the day, the Pacific Boxers remained on top, beating out #2 ranked Lewis & Clark 9-3. The Boxers started off hot, scoring 7 in the first two innings. While the Pioneers managed to get a run in the fifth and two in the ninth, they trailed throughout the game.
Tyler Quinn led the Boxers with 3 hits while Isaac Lovings achieved an impressive 5 RBI for the game. Will Clark pitched all 9 innings allowing only 5 hits and 3 earned runs.
Dylan Moore led the Pios at bat with 2 hits and 2 RBI. Pitcher Luke Ritter put in 5 innings of work allowing 10 hits and 8 earned runs.
Lewis & Clark vs. Whitman
The Lewis & Clark Pioneers earned themselves a spot in the NWC Baseball Championship Game, defeating Whitman 6-5.
Leading the Pioneers were Brennen Davis with 3 hits and 1 RBI, Jakob Ghammachi with 2 hits and 3 RBI, and Will Heron with 2 hits and 1 RBI. Ghammachi had the sole home run of the game in the bottom of the seventh. Lewis & Clark pitcher Kris Wuelfing remained in for 5 innings, allowing 8 hits and 1 earned run.
Teague Condor had 4 hits and 1 RBI for the Blues and Joaquin Hines had 1 hit and 2 RBI.
Up Next
The Pacific Boxers will face off once again with the Lewis & Clark Pioneers at noon on Sunday. The winner of the game will be crowned the NWC Baseball Tournament Champions and will earn the NWC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament.