Bearcats Take Series Against Pioneers of Lewis & Clark on Senior Day

KEIZER, Ore. – Junior Dylan Turner pitched eight complete innings before handling the ball to graduate student Jackson Garrett for the final three outs, as Willamette University's baseball team picked up a 5-4 win over Lewis & Clark College to earn a crucial series victory Saturday afternoon at Volcanoes Stadium.

With today's win, Willamette improves to 13-21 overall and 10-11 in Northwest Conference play. Meanwhile, Lewis & Clark falls to 19-17 overall and 10-11 in NWC contests. With three games remaining in the regular season, Willamette sits in a two-way tie for fifth place along with Lewis & Clark as both teams are behind Linfield University for the fourth and final spot in the Northwest Conference Championship Tournament to be played over Mother's Day weekend.

On Senior Day, five Bearcats – Preston Lau, Luke Piazza, Tassos Foster, Rocco Granucci, and Drew Baskin – each recorded hits in their final home game in a Bearcat uniform. First-year player Trevor Sostman led the offensive attack for Willamette with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate, while sophomore Carter Stoltz picked up the other Bearcat hit on the afternoon. Foster led Willamette with two runs batted in on his team-leading sixth home run of the season, while junior Nate Hamburger scored a pair of runs for the Bearcats.

Willamette got on the board first in its opening at-bat of the game when Hamburger drew a leadoff walk before advancing to second on a balk. One batter later, Foster unloaded on a pitch sending it over the left field fence for an early 2-0 lead for the home team.

Neither team would score again until the fifth inning when Lewis & Clark got on the scoreboard thanks to Brennan Davis' team-leading ninth home run of the season to tie the game at 2-apiece.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Willamette retook the lead when Piazza drove home Hamburger on a RBI single to right field to give the Bearcats a 3-2 lead after Hamburger drew another lead off walk to get on base.

Lewis & Clark would tie the game once again in the top of the sixth inning when Michael Aikawa roped a double into left center field to score Joaquin Sandoval, as the visiting Pioneers knotted the game for the second time at 3-3.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Willamette got two runners on base via a single up the middle by Sostman before Baskin was hit by a pitch. Following a ground out by graduate student pinch-hitter Charlie Ferbet that allowed senior pinch-runner Wyatt Thames and Baskin to advance 90 feet, Stoltz stepped to the plate with two outs and batted a ball to the left of the Pioneers' shortstop for an infield single to bring home Thames for a 4-3 Willamette lead. With the bases loaded, Lewis & Clark's pitcher was called for a balk allowing Baskin to score an insurance run giving the host Bearcats a two-run lead, 5-3, heading into the ninth inning.

Lewis & Clark got one final at-bat with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Pioneers pulled within a run, 5-4, on a single to left field by Brandon Gonzaga to bring home pinch-runner Gavin Manzano following a two-out double down the left field line by pinch-hitter Connor Broschard. With the go-ahead run at the plate and the potential tying run standing at first base, Garrett got the Pioneers' final batter to pop out to Baskin at second base to end the game.

Lewis & Clark had nine different players register a hit led by Davis' two-run home run, while Sandoval, Will Heron, Davis, and Mangano each scored a run for the visiting Pioneers.

Turner started the game on the mound for Willamette and went eight full innings allowing three earned runs on six hits with a pair of strikeouts en route to earning his fourth win of the season. Garrett, who allowed one earned run on three hits in his inning of work, picked up his first save of the season for the Bearcats.

Lewis & Clark starter Luke Ritter allowed three earned runs on five hits over the opening 4.0 innings with two strikeouts before Nate Kerr, who suffered his second loss of the season, came on in relief allowing two earned runs on five hits with one K.

Willamette closes out the regular season with a three-game series against the Bruins of George Fox University starting on Friday, May 2, with a single game starting at 3:00 PM. The Bearcats and Bruins will wrap up the weekend series with a double header on Sunday, May 4, with Game #1 beginning at noon. All three games will be played in Newberg at Curtis and Margaret Morse Athletic Fields.