By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Sometimes in sports, one player leads their team to victory in a key game. For Willamette University's baseball team on Saturday, May 10, that player was graduate pitcher Layton Wagner (Boise, ID/Timberline HS). Wagner tossed a complete-game, five-hitter with 11 strikeouts and just one walk in a 5-1 win over Whitworth University in the first round of the 2024 Northwest Conference Baseball Tournament at Borleske Stadium. Willamette upped its record to 26-13 on the season, while Whitworth fell to 26-13.
During the game, Wagner broke Willamette's school record for career strikeouts by a pitcher. He now has 270 strikeouts, surpassing the previous record of 266 set by Jeff Jensen from 2002 through 2005.
In many games when one player leads the way, other players provide big plays during the win. The Bearcats received some of those plays with three singles in the fifth inning -- one each by Rocco Granucci (Jr., OF, San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS, Carl Lawson (Sr., OF, Whittier, CA/Lutheran HS/Cal Poly Pomona), and Clint Walker (Grad., CF, Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS). The Bearcats also played errorless defense throughout the game.
In the fifth inning, Jeff Hoffman (Sr., 3B, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Gregori HS) was hit by a pitch and Granucci singled to put runners at first and third with no outs. Lawson followed with an RBI single, driving Hoffman across the plate. An error on the play put Granucci at third and Lawson at second. One out later, Walker pounded a two-RBI single into left field, allowing Granucci and Lawson to score. The three-run inning propelled Willamette into a 4-1 lead.
The Bearcats added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Walker received a base on balls to start the stanza. He scored from first when a single to right field by Wyatt Thames (Jr., OF, Elk Grove, CA/Huntington Beach HS/Biola University) was misplayed. Thames went to second on the error and later stole third, but the Bearcats were unable to send him across the plte.
Wagner improved to 9-3 with a 3.12 earned run average for the season. He has registered 78 strikeouts in 78 innings pitched this season, with 10 or more strikeouts in three games. His 11 strikeouts tied a career high, set twice in 2023 and matched this season against the University of Puget Sound on March 16.
Willamette scored the game's opening run in the bottom of the first. Tassos Foster (Sr., 2B, Novato, CA/Novato HS) was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He reached second on an error when Hoffman hit into a fielder's choice. Granucci drove in Foster with a single to left field. An error at the end of the play let Hoffman reach third while Granucci went to second. Whitworth starter Hunter Dryden forced three consecutive outs to escape the inning.
In the top of the second, Whitworth tied the score at 1-1. With two outs, Aaron Clogston doubled to center field. He went to third on an infield hit by Kevin Conder. On a double-steal, Closton scored before Conder was thrown out at second by catcher Joshua Murphy (Sr., C, Everett, WA/Cascade HS/Olympic College).
For Willamette during the game, Thames was 2 for 3 with an RBI, while Granucci and Lawson each finished 2 of 4 with a run and an RBI. Walker was 1 of 3 with a walk, a run, and two RBIs. Five Pirates recorded one hit for Whitworth.
The Bearcats will play in the winner's bracket game of the NWC Tournament on Saturday, May 11 at 1:30 p.m. against tournament host Whitman College. In the other first round game on Friday, Whitman rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Pacific University, 4-3, on a walk-off single with two outs by Garrett Runyan. Whitman moved to 26-15, while Pacific dropped to 25-15.
