FOREST GROVE – A pair of clutch eighth inning hits by Jared Van Hoon (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Mike Nagamine (Jr., Aiea, Hawaii) allowed Pacific to hand George Fox their third sweep in a Northwest Conference series in 17 years Monday as the Boxers beat the Bruins 4-1 in baseball action at Chuck Bafaro Stadium.
Van Hoon broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out single to center field that scored pinch runner Quin Moore (Fr., Bellingham, Wash.) for the winning run. After Nate Rasmussen (Jr., Sandy, Utah) walked to load the bases, Nagamine delivered a two-run single to center field that provided some critical insurance runs.
With the win, the Boxers (11-5, 7-2 NWC) earned their second sweep of a NWC series this season. The Bruins (11-5, 2-4 NWC) suffered their third sweep of a conference baseball series since the school joined the Northwest Conference in 1995. Linfield handed George Fox their last sweep during the 2010 campaign.
Kevin Schwartz (Jr., Milwaukie, Ore.) opened scoring for the Boxers in the first inning, doubling down the left field line and scoring on a double to left by Van Hoon.
Starting pitcher Chad Fahey (Jr., Keizer, Ore.), meanwhile, worked out of jams in both the first and second innings that saw the Bruins strand runners at third base. George Fox left 11 runners on base for the game, including six over the first four innings, and seven in scoring position. The Bruins finally broke through when Dan Winterstein doubled to lead off the fifth inning, was sacrificed to third and scored on a single up the middle by Sam Stahl.
Pacific took advantage of a pair of miscues to set up Van Hoon and Nagamine for their clutch hits in the eighth inning. With one out, Travis Koon (Fr., Salem, Ore.) reached base on an error by George Fox shortstop Derek Blankenship. Schwartz then hit into what looked to be an inning-ending double play. Blankenship bobbled the ball and was able to flip it to second base for the out, but Taylor Hunter could not make the throw in time to force Schwartz at first. Van Hoon followed with his single to center against reliever Andrew Snyder and Nagamine drove in his pair against reliever Jacob Brown.
Fahey finished just short of a complete game to improve to 2-1 on the season. In 8.1 innings, Fahey allowed just the one run on seven hits and six walks and struck out eight. Van Hoon retired the final two batters of the game to earn his third save of the year. Snyder took the loss for George Fox, allowed three unearned runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout in 1.1 innings of work. Bruins' starter Brian Davis was strong in his outing, allowing one run on five hit with two walks and three strikeouts in 6.1 innings.
Van Hoon led Pacific at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two runs batted in and a run scored. Scott Rowland (Sr., Salem, Ore.) also went 2 for 3. Winterstein and Stahl each went 2 for 4 to lead the Bruins.
After playing two of their first three NWC series at home, the Boxers will spend the next two weekends on the road. The Boxers return to action on Saturday as they begin a tough three-game series with Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma. George Fox will host Willamette in a three-game series this weekend.