Bearcats Rout Lewis & Clark, 19-6, in Non-Conference Game

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University defeated Lewis & Clark College, 19-6, in a non-conference baseball game on Wednesday, April 13 at John Lewis Field.

Willamette scored six runs in each of the first two innings to build a 12-1 advantage. WU achieved 22 hits by 13 different players. The Bearcats improved to 15-14 on the season. Lewis & Clark dropped to 4-27.

A total of 23 players saw action for the Bearcats, including seven pitchers. WU starter Devin Grindy (Sr., RHP, Washougal, WA/Camas HS), who threw the first three innings, was credited with the win.

Tommy Kawamura (Fr., 2B, Renton, WA/Lindbergh HS) was the only Willamette player to compete in all nine innings at the same position. Tosh Semlacher (Fr., 3B/RF, Gold River, CA/Jesuit HS) played every inning, but moved from third base to right field in the top of the sixth.

Kawamura finished 3 for 5 with three runs, a walk and two RBIs. Semlacher hit for three-quarters of the cycle with a single, a double and a triple. He was 3 for 5 with three runs, a walk and three RBIs.

Alex Lavery (Fr., DH/IF, San Jose, CA/Bellarmine Prep) was 3 for 3, scored a run and earned two RBIs.

Other WU players with more than one hit were Tim Schilf (Jr., IF, Honolulu, HI/Iolani School), who went 2 for 3 and scored twice, Max Stepan (Sr., C, Pueblo, CO/Pueblo County HS), who finished 2 for 4 with a run and two RBIs, and Michael Oliver (Jr., 1B, Seattle, WA/West Seattle HS) who went 2 for 2 with one RBI.

Semlacher's move to the outfield was part of wholesale changes for the Bearcats in the sixth inning, as most of Willamette's starters left the game after batting three times.

Shortstop Michael Ball of Lewis & Clark led the Pioneers with three hits in three at bats. He scored one run and drove in one run. Four other L&C players contributed two hits apiece.

Lewis & Clark hit two singles in the top of the first inning, but did not score. Geoff Wertz singled to start the game. With one out Ball moved Wertz to third with a single. Ball was later caught stealing in a run-down between first and second. Grindy forced Tucker Laurence into a ground out to end the inning.

WU surged out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Doug Bloom (Sr., SS, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) walked and later scored the first run when T.C. Lee (Sr., LF, Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS) hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded.

The Bearcats piled up five hits during the inning, including RBI doubles by Semlacher and Sky Kelley (So., RF, Portland, OR/Jesuit HS), plus RBI singles from Stepan and Lavery. Brandon Chinn (Fr., 1B, Salem, OR/Sprague HS) also earned an RBI on a ground out.

The Pioneers plated one run in the top of the second. Sam Holman doubled with one and out, went to third on a fly out by Nick Lavin and scored on a double by Parker Dane.

Willamette took control of the game with six runs in the bottom of the second, while putting together five more hits. Stepan hit into a ground out to drive home the first run. Semlacher pounded a triple to center field to bring in the second run.

Chinn provided the next RBI with a single to left, while Lavery added an RBI single to center and Kawamura supplied a two-RBI single to right.

L&C tallied one run in the top of the third and Willamette added a run in the bottom of the fourth for a 13-2 lead. The Pioneers scored three times in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 13-5, but the Bearcats pushed across four runs in the bottom of the inning.

Willamette is 4-1 through the first five games in a nine-game homestand. The Bearcats will continue the homestand with a three-game Northwest Conference series against Whitman College on Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17.

The Bearcats and the Missionaries will play a doubleheader on Saturday and one game on Sunday. The action will start at 12 p.m. (PDT) each day. Willamette will conclude its homestand by taking on Pacific University in a none-conference game on Tuesday. April 19 at 4 p.m.