By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Four Willamette University baseball players each registered two hits and Willamette held a 2-1 lead late in the game, but George Fox University scored in the top of the ninth inning and tacked on a run in the 11th for a 3-2 win over the Bearcats on Sunday, April 21 at John Lewis Field. Earning two hits for the Bearcats were Tassos Foster (Sr., 2B, Novato, CA/Novato HS), Jeff Hoffman (Sr., 3B, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Gregori HS), Carl Lawson (Sr., OF, Whittier, CA/Lutheran HS/Cal Poly Pomona), and Luke Piazza (Jr., 1B/LF, Simi Valley, CA/Royal HS/UC Davis).
Evan Balangit of George Fox walked to start the ninth inning. He went to second on a wild pitch and moved to third when Bleu Ellis reached base on a fielder's choice that did not result in an out. Balangit scored when Jared Miller went to first on an error at third. Balingit's run tied the game at 2-2. Willamette did not break the tie in the bottom of the ninth, forcing extra innings.
Neither team scored in the 10th inning. In the top of the 11th, Balingit singled to right field and then moved to second on a groundout by Jared Whitaker. Balingit went to third on a single by Austin Nissan. After Nissan stole second base, Ty Davis flied out to center field for a sacrifice fly as Belingit scored to give GFU a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the 11th, Jackson Garrett (Sr., UT, Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad HSPalomar College) singled to left center to start the frame and Boone Rush (Sr., OF, Portland, OR/Grant HS/Linn-Benton CC) pinch-ran. Rush advanced to second on a pinch-hit sacrifice bunt by Preston Lau (Jr., OF, Burlingame, CA/Burlingame HS). Foster grounded out to shortstop, which moved Rush to third with two outs. Hoffman also grounded out to shortstop for the final out of the game.
George Fox scored the game's first run in the third inning. Miller hit a bunt single toward second with one out. After Noah Meffert walked, Miller stole third, and then scored on a single toward third by Jeremy Sangalang. Willamette equalized the score in the fifth frame. Foster provided a leadoff single and stole second. The throw by the catcher was wild and Foster advanced to third. He scored one out later on a single to center field by Rocco Granucci (Jr., OF, San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS).
Willamette broke the 1-1 tie with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Foster hit an infield single toward shortstop to open the stanza, went to second on a single by Hoffman, reached third on a fielder's choice by Granucci, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lawson.
For the Bearcats, Foster finished 2 of 4 with two runs and a stolen base. Lawson and Piazza each went 2 of 4, and Hoffman was 2 of 6. Drew Baskin (Jr., SS, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) hit a double, while Lawson and Granucci each produced one RBI. Michael Eastman of GFU was 2 of 5. WU outhit the Bruins 11-9.
Relief pitcher Brady Joyner (Sr., RHP, Las Vegas, NV/Shadow Ridge HS) fell to 1-2 with the loss for the Bearcats. He pitched the last three innings and allowed two runs (one earned) and three hits. He had two strikeouts and two walks. Michael Singleton moved to 3-2 with the win for GFU. He also pitched the final three innings, and allowed just one hit and two walks, while earning one strikeout. WU starter EJ McGrew (So., LHP, Oakland, CA/St. Mary's College Prep) allowed five hits and one run while tossing the first 4 2/3 innings with three strikeouts.
Willamette will be back at John Lewis Field next weekend for a non-conference series with California Lutheran University. The Bearcats and the Kingsmen will play two games on Saturday, April 27 starting at 1 p.m. PDT. Willamette and CLU will complete the series with one game on Sunday, April 28 at 12 p.m.
