PORTLAND, Ore. – Brian Ranta threw the fourth no-hitter in George Fox University history in a 1-0 first-game win, and the Bruins used a pair of six-run innings to rally for a 12-4 second-game victory and sweep the Whitman College Missionaries in a Northwest Conference baseball twinbill Saturday afternoon here at Concordia University's Hilken Community Stadium.
The games were moved to Concordia's brand-new artificial-turf soccer and baseball complex due to unplayable wet conditions in the outfield at the Bruins' Morse Field.
Game 1 - George Fox 1, Whitman 0
Ranta (3-1) was superb in his nine no-hit innings, retiring the first 13 batters he faced before walking Kyle Moyes and Peter Valentine back-to-back in the 5th, then setting down the last 14 in a row. The Bruins' ace right-hander struck out a career-high 12, with at least one in every inning, got 10 ground ball outs, and his fielders had nothing but routine plays behind him. He joined David Callahan (1981 vs. Northwest Nazarene), Troy Schrenk (1997 vs. Willamette), and Scott Hyde (2004 vs. Pacific) as no-hit Bruins.
As good as Ranta was, Missionary righty Justin Weeks (1-5) was virtually his equal, taking a no-hitter of his own into the 7th. He hit Taylor Hunter with one out in the 1st, got a double play grounder, then set down 17 more in order before Josh Rapacz broke up the no-hitter with a solid two-out single to center in the 7th.
The Bruins had Weeks on the ropes in the 8th when Timothy Williams and Derek Blankenship singled and Zac Israel reached on a dropped fly in right by Aaron Cohen that loaded the bases with one out. Cohen atoned for the error, however, when he caught Jared Chase's fly and gunned down Williams in a bang-bang play at the plate to preserve the 0-0 tie.
Still scoreless into the bottom of the 9th, Weeks hit Hunter for a second time with one out and was replaced by Brett Lambert. Hunter stole second as Rapacz fanned for the second out, then stole third and scored the only run of the game when catcher McLean Harned's throw hit the bag and bounded into left. Weeks finished with five strikeouts and only three hits allowed in the hard-luck loss.
Game 2 - George Fox 12, Whitman 4
Held hitless for three more innings by George Fox second-game starter Taylor Dunn, the Missionaries finally picked up a safety when Kyle Buckham bunted for a hit with one out in the 4th. Buckham reached second when Dunn threw the ball away, and Cameron Young singled to center to drive him.
Whitman added three more in the 6th and drove Dunn from the game. Harned singled to lead off and Eli Mathieu was hit by a pitch, bringing on eventual winner Taylor Hill (1-2). Johnny Chow sacrificed before Buckham was hit to load the bases. After Young fanned, Hill wild-pitched in Harned, and Cohen hit a high double to left-center to score Mathieu and Buckham for a 4-0 lead.
Whitman starter Will Thompson, who had allowed only three hits to the Bruins through five innings, tired in the 6th. Rapacz and Danny Clifford hit back-to-back doubles for a run to start the inning, and Williams singled to left to put runners at the corners with one out. Blankenship's infield single to the hole at short scored Clifford, and Williams alertly took third.
Spencer Hobson (0-3) replaced Thompson and got no one out, walking Nick Benish, giving up a bunt single to Chase that scored Williams, and hitting David Greenstein to force in Blankenship with the tying run. Lambert relieved and got a force out at the plate, but Young threw away a Rapacz grounder that would have ended the inning as two more runs scored for a 6-4 Bruin lead.
Eric Kittelson threw a scoreless one-hit 7th for the Bruins, striking out two, before Clay Gartner pitched the final two frames. He allowed two hits in the 8th but no runs, picking one runner off first, and worked a 1-2-3 9th while notching his second save of the season, having entered the game with only a 6-4 lead.
The Bruins salted the game away in the 8th with another six-run outburst, half of them unearned due to two Whitman errors. Rapacz, Williams, and John Mountz had RBIs singles in the inning, Clifford drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and two runs scored on throwing errors.
Bruin hurlers struck out nine while allowing eight hits to the Missionaries, with Young and Harned getting two apiece. The Bruins banged out 14 hits against four Whitman pitchers, Rapacz rapping out three while Williams, Blankenship and Chase had two each.
NEXT: George Fox (11-12, NWC 7-4) and Whitman (2-21, NWC 2-9) will conclude their three-game series Sunday at 12:00 noon, also at Hilken Stadium.