SALEM, Oregon – The Loggers' offense cannot be contained. The Puget Sound baseball team rumbled to a 17-6 win at Willamette Saturday. It is the most runs scored by a Logger team since a 17-12 win over Pacific Lutheran May 4, 2021.
 
Willamette (5-6, 3-4 NWC) held Puget Sound (8-6, 5-2 NWC) scoreless on one hit through the first three innings, as the Loggers found themselves in a 2-0 deficit. But Puget Sound came to life in the fourth inning.
 
Dylan Joyce, the Loggers' slugging first baseman, belted a leadoff home run to serve as the catalyst. It was his sixth home run of the season. The next batter, Shane Himeda, was bit by a pitch, and he promptly moved into scoring position with a steal.
 
After Jacoba Ota walked, Makana Murashige hit an RBI single to tie the game. Will Gross struck out, but he reached first on a wild pitch to load the bases. Cody Hirano cleared the bases with a double to centerfield, giving the Loggers a 5-2 lead.
 
Puget Sound tacked on another five runs in the sixth inning. The rally was aided by two Willamette errors, while Joyce and Himeda both drove in runs with sac flies.
 
Himeda wasn't done there. In the seventh inning he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, and like Hirano in the fourth inning, Himeda delivered a three-run double.
 
Both Himeda and Hirano finished the game with four RBI. Himeda, Ota, and Murashige put in two-hit efforts. Puget Sound starting pitcher Joe Schwab allowed only two earned runs in four innings, and Henry Baker earned the win after striking out six in four innings of relief.
 
The Loggers and Bearcats have a doubleheader Sunday, March 6, starting at 11 a.m.