CLAREMONT, Calif. – Pacific picked up their fair share of hits Saturday, but Pomona-Pitzer kept the Boxers from crossing the plate too much as the Sagehens swept a doubleheader and the three-game baseball series at Alumni Field.
The Boxers picked up nine hits against Pomona-Pitzer Travis Rooke-Ley in the opener, including a home run from Conor Clark (Jr., Tigard, Ore.), but left eight runners on base as the Sagehens picked up the 7-2 win. The Boxers then saw a three-run lead vaporize in the second game behind a three-run fifth and a four-run seventh as Pomona-Pitzer picked up the 10-5 victory.
Pacific (0-3) used the Clark homer to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning of the first game, hitting the two-run shot with two outs. The Sagehens (3-0) took all of them back in the fourth. Nick Frederick singled to score Nick Gentili to open scoring and Kyle Pokorny singled two batters later, allowing Erik Munzer to tie it. Jackson Badger gave Pomona-Pitzer the lead when his single scored Teddy Bingham.
The Sagehens added one in the sixth when Frederick's long single plated Munzer. They added three more in the seventh, two on an error and one on a Frederick double.
Rooke-Ley picked up the win for Pomona-Pitzer, allowing two runs on nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts in six innings. Rob Dittrick (So., Mililani, Hawaii) took the loss in his first start of the season, allowing four runs on eight hits with a walk and two strikeouts in six innings. Trux French (So., Kennewick, Wash.) went 2 for 4 to lead Pacific, while Frederick went 4 for 4 with three runs batted in for Pomona-Pitzer.
Pomona-Pitzer opened the second game by scoring two runs in the first, with Timothy Novom scoring on a ground out and Munzer plating on an error. The Boxers took one back in the second when Jared Van Hoon (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) single to score Mike Nagamine (Jr., Aiea, Hawaii).
Sam Kaplan (Fr., Salt Lake City, Utah) opened Pacific's four-run fourth when he scored on a wild pitch. Nagamine then delivered with a two-run double that scored Logan Moen (So., Brier, Wash.) and Nick Tasaka (So., Hawaii Kai, Hawaii) and French capped it with a double that scored Nagamine.
The Sagehens rebounded with a three-run fifth, two coming on a single by Pokorny. They added four insurance runs in the seventh two-run double by Novom, a sacrifice fly and a double by Munzer.
Stuart Gano picked up the win in relief for the Sagehens, allowing just one hit in the final 4.1 innings of the game in place of starter Guy Stevens. Dan Wolfe (Sr., Warrenton, Ore.) took the loss in relief for the Boxers, allowing six runs on seven hits and one strikeout in 2.1 innings of work. Starter Chad Fahey (Jr., Keizer, Ore.) allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits in four innings. Pokorny finished 3 for 4 for the Sagehens with a run and two runs batted in. Nagamine went 1 for 4 for the Boxers with two runs and two RBI.
The Boxers will take a weekend off before returning to the field next weekend. Pacific will play three games in the Cascade vs. NWC Challenge, facing Oregon Tech on Sat., Feb. 19 and Concordia (Ore.) and Corban on Sun., Feb. 20.