March 30, 2008

Bruins Take Two From Lutes After PLU Wins Suspended Game

Saturday Game Two
Sunday Game One
Sunday Game Two

Tyler Libadia - key two-run single

PARKLAND, Wash. – George Fox won both ends of a Sunday afternoon Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader from host Pacific Lutheran after the Lutes rallied to win a game suspended from Saturday.

The Lutes came up with six runs in the eighth inning to beat George Fox, 7-6, in the suspended game, and with it earned a sweep of Saturday’s twinbill. The Bruins used strong starting pitching from Mark Putney and Shane Dalgleish on Sunday to beat the Lutes, 5-1 and 4-3.

George Fox took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning of Saturday’s suspended game, but the Lutes used four base hits, a pair of walks and a hit batsman to score six runs. Kris Hansen and Ryan Aratani drew bases-loaded walks and Carl Benton was hit by a pitch to make the score 5-4, and pinch hitter Tyler Libadia followed with a two-run single through the middle. Josh Takayoshi added a run-scoring single, giving PLU a 7-5 lead entering the ninth inning.

The Bruins pulled within a run on Ryan Fobert’s base hit, but with the tying run on third base, Fobert was picked off of first base by Ian Opsal for the final out.

Both teams finished with nine hits, with Matt Wyckoff, Fobert and Dan Winterstein all collecting a pair for the Bruins and Takayoshi and Hansen a pair each for the Lutes. Paul DiPietro (2-2) pitched one scoreless inning to pick up the win with Opsal earning his second save.

George Fox came back from the disappointment of losing late leads to the Lutes in the first two games by winning both games of the Sunday doubleheader. Mark Putney, making his first start of the season, went six innings in the opener, allowing just one run on four hits while fanning six. Brian Davis earned his second save of the season, striking out two in one inning of work.

Putney was locked in a pitcher’s duel with PLU’s Brett Brunner until the Bruins broke through for two runs in the sixth inning. With one out, Wyckoff bunted for a base hit, and he went to third on Fobert’s third single of the game. Dan Winterstein ripped a double down the leftfield line to drive in Wyckoff, and Todd Siler followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Fobert.

The Bruins added three runs against Jeff Danforth in the seventh inning with Kyle Kuenzi hitting a two-run triple and then scoring on Wyckoff’s sacrifice fly.

PLU scored its only run of the game in the seventh when Benton was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The rally ended with the potential tying run at the plate.

Dalgleish gave George Fox the strong second game outing, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits in five innings. The Bruins gave him support with a run in the second on Brett Tallman’s RBI double, and they added three runs in the third. The first run came in on Wyckoff’s RBI single, and Wyckoff scored the second on the back end of a double steal with Fobert. The final run scored on a PLU fielding error.

The Lutes got back into the game with two runs in the fifth. Ryan Aratani doubled and later scored on a throwing error, and Matt Akridge came in on a run-scoring single by Sammy Davis.

PLU had one last rally in the ninth, pulling to within 4-3 on Geoff Gabler’s RBI double. Kuenzi, who played stellar defense in centerfield throughout the series, almost ran down the drive but his diving effort came up just short when the ball tipped off the end of his glove. With the tying run on second, Brian Davis earned his second save of the day by coaxing a couple of game-ending groundouts.

The Bruins collected seven hits, including two by Wyckoff, while the Lutes had five hits, two each by Aratani and Sammy Davis.

- PLU -