Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 HILLSBORO, Oregon – The Puget Sound baseball team closed out the Northwest Conference Preseason Tournament by splitting two games with a win over Lewis & Clark and a loss to Pacific at Ron Tonkin Field.
Puget Sound 5, Lewis & Clark 0
The Loggers' first win of the 2016 season was a shutout victory over the Pioneers as Puget Sound scored all five of its runs in the first inning.
Tyler Huling pitched 5.1 shutout innings, struck out five, and allowed just five hits to earn the win. Nick Funyack and James Dejesus led the offensive effort with two RBIs apiece.
Nickolas Alarcio got the big first inning rolling with a one-out double, and Chris Zerio followed with a single. Nathan Backes drew a walk to load the bases for Funyack, who smacked a two-run single to right field.
Matt Shelhamer followed with a double that allowed Backes to score, and Dejesus capped off the rally with a two-run single through the hole at short. Michael Warnick and Joshua Zavisubin combined for to yield just one hit in 3.2 innings of relief.
Puget Sound 3, Pacific 8
Pacific put a run on the board in each of the first two innings and got three more in the fourth stanza to put Puget Sound in a 5-0 hole.
The Loggers started to chip away with three runs in the seventh. Alex Sierra and Ryan Moyes hit consecutive one-out singles, and Nick Ultsch reached base on a throwing error by the second baseman which allowed Serria to score as Moyes moved to third.
Jordan Hirae came in to pinch run for Ultsch and promptly stole second base, putting two runners in scoring position for Cal Muramaru. The Puget Sound centerfielder ripped a two-run single to center, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
The Boxers struck back with two runs in the bottom of the seventh and one more in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Starting pitcher Merle Rowan-Kennedy suffered the loss after allowing five earned runs in 3.1 innings.
The Loggers return to the diamond for a three-game series at the College of Idaho starting on Saturday, Feb. 13.
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