By Charlie McGuire, Athletics Communications Assistant
TACOMA, Wash. – The Willamette University baseball team scored runs in five separate innings on the way to an 8-4 win at Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday, Feb. 26. The Bearcats improved to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Northwest Conference while PLU fell to 8-3 and 4-2 in the NWC.
The Bearcats pushed across one run in the first inning as Luke Werkmeister-Martin (Jr., IF, Louisville, CO./Monarch HS) doubled to lead-off the game and came in to score on an RBI from Ethan Fischel (Sr., IF, Eureka, CA/Eureka HS). Fischel added an RBI double in the third inning, scoring Ethan Dunnam (Jr., C, El Cajon, CA/Valhalla HS), who reached on a one-out single.
Willamette stretched the lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning. Drew Baskin (Fy., IF, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) reached on a walk and came around to score on Werkmeister-Martin's second double of the game. Werkmeister-Martin moved to third and scored on a Dunnam RBI single to left field.
The Lutes held in the fifth and sixth, but the Bearcats had another strong inning in the seventh, tacking on three more runs. Jeff Hoffman (So., IF, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Gregori HS) launched a triple to center to start things off before Fischel drew a walk and stole second to put runners on the backside with no one out. Noah Garcia (Fy., IF, Danville, CA/San Ramon Valley HS) drove in a run, and two more runs scored as Clint Walker (Jr., OF, Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS) reached on an error to make the score 7-1.
The Bearcats would tally one more on a solo homerun off the bat of Werkmeister-Martin in the eighth. PLU added lone runs in their final three at-bats for the final of 8-4.
Werkmeister-Martin went 3-for-5 on the day with two doubles, a homerun, three runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Dunnam finished 3-for-4 while Fischel drove in two runs and scored another to lead the Bearcats at the plate.
Justin Miller (Sr., RHP, Poway, CA/Poway HS) earned the win on the hill, scattering five hits and recording three strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work. Brady Joyner (So., RHP, Las Vegas, NV/Shadow Ridge HS) came on to close things out, booking three strikeouts in the final 2.1 innings.
Willamette Head Coach Aaron Swick was pleased with the team's performance, commenting "Justin was excellent today and we had some timely hitting. The team came together and bounced back after a tough outing yesterday."
The Bearcats return home for a three-game series with the University of Puget Sound next weekend. They host the Loggers in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 5, and a single game on Sunday. Opening pitch for game one on Saturday is scheduled for 11 a.m. (PST)
