WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Senior Mark Rockey (Mountlake Terrace,
Wash./Univ. of New Mexico) hit three home runs and combined for
eight RBIs as the Puget Sound Loggers swept the Whitman
Missionaries, 18-12 and 11-4, in a Northwest Conference baseball
doubleheader on Saturday in Walla Walla, Wash.
In the first game, Rockey opened up the conference series with a
three-run home run in the top of the first that gave the Loggers
the early lead. Whitman took advantage of a few Logger
miscues to add two run in the bottom of the frame to tighten the
gap to 3-2 after the first frame. The Missionaries then
exploded for eight runs on seven hits in the top of the second as
they found themselves leading the Loggers, 10-2.
In the top of the fifth, Chaz Kramer (Boulder, Colo./Silver
Creek) got the Loggers back within five runs, using a two run home
run that also scored Doug Cox (Kailua, Hawai'i/Kalaheo). Two
more runs in the top of the seventh got the Loggers back within
three runs, 10-7, but Whitman added what looked like two more
insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to put Puget Sound
behind, 12-7 with just three outs left to go.
Cox led off the top of the ninth with a home run and the Loggers
just couldn't be stopped as they managed eight runs before a single
out was recorded, including three on a home run by Rockey that also
scored Matt Cox (Salem, Ore./South Salem) and Dakota Resnik
(Bellevue, Wash./Newport), as the Loggers scored 11 runs on nine
hits to stun the Missionaries, 18-12.
Freshman Nathan Aguiar (Los Gatos, Calif.) earned his first win
of the season, striking out three in two hitless innings as the
Loggers slugged out 21 hits in the opening game.
In the nightcap, Whitman struck first with a lone run in the
bottom of the first but the Loggers used a single in the top of the
second by senior Jarvis Nohara (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani) to score
Jason Powell (Redwood City, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) as the
Loggers evened the score at 1-1.
The Loggers blew the game open in the top of the fifth, scoring
nine runs on seven hits to pull ahead 10-1. Whitman added two
runs in the bottom of the sixth and one more in the seventh but the
Puget Sound lead was too much to overcome. Resnik singled in
Doug Cox in the top of the eighth as they earned the 11-4 win.
Taylor Volz (Portland, Ore./Grant) collected the win, allowing
three runs on eight hits in six innings pitched.
The Loggers and Missionaries will conclude the three-game
conference series with a single contest on Sunday, beginning at
Noon at Borleske Stadium in Walla Walla, Wash.
