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Box Score 2 FOREST GROVE, Ore.—Puget Sound baseball split a non-conference doubleheader at Pacific's Chuck Bafaro Stadium Saturday, winning its 10th game in a row with a game one victory before falling in the second contest of the day in Forest Grove, Ore.
Game One: Puget Sound 11, Pacific 6
The Loggers extended their notable win streak to 10 games with a win in game one against Pacific, scoring double-digit runs for the fourth time during the stretch. They wasted no time in taking an early lead by scoring two runs on back-to-back doubles in the first inning. Jeff Walton hit the first one to bring in Connor Savage, and Nathan Backes tallied the second to plate Walton.
Both teams added a run in the third inning –Walton hit a sacrifice fly to left field for the Loggers' score—and the host Boxers added another in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2. In the sixth both squads pushed two runs across, and the Boxers tied the game in the seventh on a sacrifice bunt from Justin Strayer.
The Loggers responded immediately, scoring six two-out runs in the eighth inning to take control. Walton brought in three of those runs with a bases-clearing double to score Savage, Lucas Stone, and Chris Zerio. In the next at bat, Backes again brought in Walton with an extra-base hit, ripping a triple to right center field. Nick Funyak closed the inning with an RBI single to bring home Backes and give the Loggers an 11-5 lead. Pacific got one of those back in the bottom of the eighth, but Jarrod Beiser tallied the final three outs without letting a Boxer past first base to hold on for the victory.
Walton led the team with three hits—two of them doubles—and five RBIs, scoring two runs himself. Backes, Savage, Funyak, and Troy Kakugawa tallied three hits on the day as well. On the mound, Kian Kurokawa earned his second win of the season after going 2.0 innings in relief, allowing two runs while striking out three batters.
With the win, Puget Sound extended its win streak to 10 games, the school's longest since at least 2000. During the streak the Loggers hit .357 with 98 runs scored (9.8 runs per game) with a .428 slugging percentage and 30 hits for extra bases. Funyak led the team in hitting in that stretch, hitting .533 (16-for-30) with five doubles, 11 RBIs, and seven runs scored. Walton ripped a team-high 17 RBIs during the 10-game stretch as well.
Game Two: Pacific 4, Puget Sound 2
Pacific scored the first run of the nightcap as Matt Hopp ripped an RBI single through the left side in the second inning. The Loggers took the lead in the top of the fourth, however, when Zerio hit an RBI single in the fourth, taking third in a fielding error. Walton followed up with a sacrifice fly to left for his sixth RBI of the day, scoring Zerio.
Puget Sound held the lead until the bottom of the sixth when the Boxers scored three runs on four hits to take a 4-2 advantage. Pacific's starter, Kyle Treadway, shut the Puget Sound offense down in the final two innings however, allowing just two hits after the seventh inning onward to hold on for his third win of the season. Treadway allowed four hits total during his complete game, striking out one batter while walking four.
Puget Sound starter Collin Maier took the loss, allowing four runs in 6.0 innings of work. He struck out three Boxers on the night.
The loss snapped the Loggers' win streak, and Savage saw his 14-game hit streak snapped after going hitless in four at bats during the nightcap as well. He hit .443 (27-for-63) during the streak, tallying seven RBIs on three doubles and scoring 17 runs.
Puget Sound (17-18, 14-10 NWC) will close out its season with a single non-conference game at Pacific Sunday, May 4. First pitch for that contest is slated for 12:00 p.m., again at Chuck Bafaro Stadium in Forest Grove. With a win against the Boxers May 4, the Loggers could finish at .500 or better for the first time since 2011 when they ended the year at 17-17.
