By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- The Willamette University Bearcats amassed 14 hits on their way to a 16-7 victory over Whitman College in the second game of a Northwest Conference doubleheader on Sunday, May 5. In the first game, Whitman scored five runs in the first inning and the Blues went on to defeat the Bearcats, 9-2. Both games were played at Linfield University's Roy Helser Field after the weather prevented the teams from playing at John Lewis Field in Salem on Saturday.
Willamette and Whitman will return to John Lewis Field on Monday, May 6 for the final game in the three-game series. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. PDT. Willamette is now 24-13 overall and 14-9 in the NWC. Whitman is 25-14, including 16-7 in the NWC.
With one win on Sunday, Whitman clinched first place in the NWC regular season standings and the right to host the 2024 NWC Baseball Tournament in Walla Walla, Washington, on May 10-12. Willamette had to sweep the series in order to grab first place.
Even so, Willamette has clinched an NWC Tournament berth. The Bearcats can claim outright possession of second place with a win on Monday. With a loss, Willamette will share second place with Whitworth University (14-10). Pacific University (12-11) needs a win over Lewis & Clark College to grab the final NWC Tournament berth. If L&C wins, Linfield (12-12) will receive the final berth.
Lawson and Garrett Each Provide Three RBIs in 16-7 Win
Carl Lawson (Sr., OF, Whittier, CA/Lutheran HS/Cal Poly Pomona) and Jackson Garrett (Sr., UT, Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad HS/Palomar College) both earned three RBIs in the second game to lead a solid all-around offensive effort for the Bearcats in the 16-7 win. Lawson was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Garrett finished 2 of 4 and also earned a walk and a run.
Other top contributors for the Bearcats were Nate Hamburger (Fy., OF, Simi Valley, CA/Royal HS), who went 3 of 6 with two runs, Jeff Hoffman (Sr., 3B, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Gregori HS), who was 2 for 4 with a walk, two runs, and two RBIs, and Rocco Granucci (Jr., OF, San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS)), who went 2 for 3 with a double, two walks, two runs scored, and an RBI.
Whitman led 4-0 after one-half inning. Beck Maguire singled and later stole second. He scored on a double by Jack Bickerton. Later, Sam Mieszkowski-Lapping hit a three-run homer.
The Bearcats earned two runs in the bottom of the first. Tassos Foster (Sr., 2B, Novato, CA/Novato HS) walked, Hoffman hit an infield single, and both players advanced on a throwing error. With one out, Drew Baskin (Jr., SS, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) walked to load the bases. Lawson and Garrett each drove in a run with an infield single.
Willamette plated three runs in the second for a 5-4 lead and scored six runs in the third for an 11-4 edge. In the second, Hoffman belted a sacrifice fly, Foster scored on a wild pitch, and Clint Walker (Grad., CF, Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS) hit into an error for an RBI. Hoffman, Lawson, and Walker each hit an RBI single in the third. Garrett added a two-run single.
Over the next three innings, Whitman moved as close as 11-7. Garrett Runyon belted a two-run homer in the fourth and Maguire earned a solo homer in the sixth.
Four runs by the Bearcats in the sixth expanded the margin to 14-7. WU plated two more runs in the seventh. In addition to achieving 14 hits, the Bearcats also benefited from 12 walks, five hit batsmen, and four errors by Whitman. Dylan Turner (So., RHP, Dallas, TX/Wilson HS), now 1-0, pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief, and allowed just two hits and one run.
Granucci and Thames Each Pound a Double in First Game
In the first game, Whitman's five-run first inning set the tone and Willamette was never able to seize momentum. Even so, Baskin and Wyatt Thames (Jr., OF, Elk Grove, CA/Huntington Beach HS/Biola University) each blasted a double for the Bearcats. Whitman prevailed 9-2.
The early surge by the Blues included RBI doubles by Brandon Ting and Nate Korahais in addition to a three-run homer by Mateus Conaway. Whitman tacked on one run in the third inning with an RBI single by Nick Teng then added a run in the fourth when Bickerton hit an RBI single. Trailing 7-1, the Bearcats earned their first run of the day in the bottom of the fourth. Baskin doubled with two outs and Lawson brought him home with a single down the right field line.
Hoffman registered a sacrifice fly to score Thames in the seventh inning, as WU cut the margin to 7-2. The Blues added a run during each of the final two innings on an RBI double by Runyon in the eighth and an RBI single by Conaway in the ninth.
Thames topped Willamette by going 3 of 4 with a double and a run. Baskin hit a double and scored a run. Whitman claimed 13 hits, led by Conaway, who went 3 of 5 with a homer and four RBIs. The Blues' Julien Hernandez, now 7-1, threw eight innings and struck out 11 batters. WU starter Layton Wagner (Grad., RHP/INF, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) fell to 8-3.
