Piazza Drives in Five Runs as Bearcats Fall 10-7 at Puget Sound

Tacoma, Wash. - Luke Piazza had two hits, including a grand slam, and drove in five runs as the Bearcats fell to Puget Sound 10-7 in the opening game of their weekend series.  Rocco Granucci led Willamette with three hits and Nate Hamburger scored three times for the Bearcats.

The Bearcats threatened first by putting two runners on in the second inning, but Granucci was thrown out at home trying to score after Drew Baskin reached on an error.  Willamette did break through in the top of the third on a home run by Tassos Foster to take a 1-0 lead.

The Loggers responded with two runs in the bottom of the third and four more in the fourth inning to take a 6-1 lead heading to the fifth.  In the Willamette fifth inning, after Carter Stoltz singled, Hamburger singled, and Foster walked to load the bases.  Piazza followed with his grand slam to right field to pull the Bearcats within one run at 6-5.

After UPS pulled ahead 7-5, Piazza got Willamette within a run for the second time when he singled home Hamburger, who had walked and advanced on a single by Foster. For the game, the top four batters in the Willamette order accounted for eight hits, four walks, six runs, and all seven runs batted in for the Bearcats.

Puget Sound scored twice in the seventh and once in the eighth to pull ahead 10-6 and Willamette looked to repeat their ninth-inning heroics of last week when they turned a 9-5 deficit into a 10-9 victory against Whitman.  Hamburger and Foster had back-to-back walks with one out, then Granucci brought Hamburger home with a single to make the score 10-7 and bring the tying run to the plate.  Trevor Sostman made the final out on a diving stop by the second baseman to end the threat and the game.  

The Bearcats and Loggers will finish up the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 18th, starting at Noon.