SALEM, Oregon – Mason Quinlan and Hunter Riley homered twice each, but the Puget Sound baseball team began its Northwest Conference season with two losses at Willamette Saturday afternoon.

Puget Sound 6, Willamette 7

Davis Miller had a quality start and three Loggers finished with multiple hits, but the Puget Sound baseball team lost the first game of a doubleheader at Willamette, 7-6.

Miller tossed 6.1 innings and allowed just three earned runs while striking out five. Hunter Riley went 2-for-5 at the dish with two RBI, a home run, and a double. Mason Quinlan homered while going 2-for-5, and AJ Morioka finished 3-for-4 with the bat.

The Loggers (3-6, 0-2 NWC) claimed a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Morioka led off with a single, Kyle Strash also singled, and Quinlan cleared the bases with a three-run shot over the right-centerfield fence.

Willamette (5-4, 2-0 NWC) answered with two runs in the bottom of the third, but the Loggers got those two runs back in the fifth. Once again, Morioka set the table with a leadoff single, and Riley launched a two-run homer to left field.

However, the Bearcats rallied for five runs in the seventh, and Puget Sound could not recover.

Puget Sound 9, Willamette 17

The Bearcats scored 10 runs in the third inning on their way to a 17-9 victory in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Hunter Riley's second home run of the day was a leadoff blast in the first inning. Quinlan's home run in the second game was also a solo variety to leadoff the fourth inning.

Jack McCullar hit a two-run homer run in the fifth inning, and Quinlan had a two-run single in the sixth.

Riley went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, and Quinlan finished 2-for-5 with three RBI. Morioka had another multi-hit effort by going 2-for-4.

The Loggers and Bearcats finish their three-game series Sunday, Feb. 23, at 12 p.m.