Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 TACOMA, Washington – The Puget Sound baseball team opened its Northwest Conference schedule by splitting a doubleheader at Lewis & Clark on Saturday afternoon.
Game 1: Puget Sound 10, Lewis & Clark 3
Collin Maier tossed eight innings and struck out eight without allowing an earned run as Puget Sound (3-6, 1-1 NWC) won its first NWC game of the year.
The Loggers held a 5-3 lead entering the final frame when Nickolas Alarcio (1-for-5, 2 R, 3B) hit a one-out triple. Chris Zerio (2-for-4, 3 R, 2 2B, RBI) was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners, and Nathan Backes (2-for-5, RBI) followed with an RBI single.
Nick Funyak (1-for-4, R, RBI) singled through the right side to score Zerio, and Layne Croney's (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI) double plated pinch-runner James Dejesus (0-for-0, R). Troy Kakugawa's (2-for-5, 2 RBI) two run single up he middle capped off the five-run rally.
The Loggers found themselves in an early hole after the Pioneers took a 2-0 lead after the first inning. However, a throwing error and fielding error by Lewis & Clark (1-6, 1-1 NWC) in the third inning yielded three unearned runs for Puget Sound.
The Loggers increased their lead to 4-2 thanks to Croney's sac fly that scored Zerio in the fifth inning. Kaulana Smith's (0-for-4, R) successful squeeze bunt in eighth allowed Croney to score and give the Loggers a 5-3 edge.
Game 2: Puget Sound 4, Lewis & Clark 5
Connor Savage hit 4-for-4 with two runs, but the Pioneers plated game-winning run in the eighth inning for a 5-4 win. Lewis & Clark took an early 1-0 lead in the first, but the Loggers scored two runs in the fifth to take a one-run lead.
Savage reached base with a two-out single and stole second base. Nickolas Alarcio's (1-for-4, R, 2 RBI) single up the middle allowed Savage to score, and a passed ball followed by a single from Chris Zerio (2-for-4, RBI) allowed Alarcio to come home.
The Pioneers took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning, but the Loggers scored two runs in the seventh thanks to a successful squeeze by Alarcio to score Cal Muramaru (0-for-4, R), and Nathan Backes (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) drove in a run with a sac fly later in the frame to put Puget Sound on top, 4-3.
Lewis & Clark scored one run in both the seventh and eighth innings for the win.
The Loggers and Pioneers conclude their three-game series on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m.
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