PORTLAND, Ore. - Completing play in the rain-plagued Cavalier Baseball Classic, the George Fox University Bruins shut out the College of Idaho Coyotes 4-0 in their first game of the day, then exploded for 19 hits in a 16-8 second-game romp over the host Concordia University-Portland Cavaliers Sunday afternoon here Concordia's Porter Park.
Game 1 - George Fox 4, College of Idaho 0
Tom Zarosinski (2-0) threw eight innings of two-hit shutout ball and Josh Rapacz highlighted an 11-hit attack with a rare home run out of Concordia's spacious park in the 1st inning to give the Bruins' right-hander the only run he would need. Zarosinski fanned eight and walked only one before Sean Eberhardt got out of a bases-loaded jam in the 9th with a game-ending 5-3 double play for his second save.
Rapacz slugged his first home run of the season with two out in the 1st to left field, where the wall is 360 down the line and 397 in the power alley. Fewer than a dozen home runs have been hit at Porter Park, which also contains the Cavaliers' soccer field, since it opened in the fall of 2011.
The Bruins added two more runs in the 4th as Zach Rapacz singled, Clay Mott doubled him to third, and Ian Skiles singled them both home. The Bruins' final run came in the 5th on singles by Derek Blankenship and Josh Rapacz, a sacrifice by Derek Dixon, and a sacrifice fly by Danny Clifford.
Both Rapaczes, Dixon, and Mott each had two hits for the Bruins. Markus Lively (0-1) allowed nine hits in 4.1 innings and all the George Fox runs to take the loss for the 'Yotes.
Game 2 - George Fox 16, at Concordia-Portland 8
In the nightcap, every player in the Bruins' starting lineup had at least one hit, Zac Israel leading the way with three safeties, along with a pair of RBIs. Matthew Zeller, Blankenship, the Rapacz brothers and Clifford all had two hits. Mott and Taylor Johnson drove in three runs each, while Blankenship and Dixon drove in two apiece. Zeller, Blankenship, and Zach Rapacz all scored three runs. The Bruins also benefitted from Concordia wildness, as six Cavalier pitchers combined to walk three and hit eight George Fox batters.
The Bruins opened with a three-spot in the top of the 1st, Zeller tripling and scoring on a passed ball and Clifford and Mott hitting sacrifice flies. They broke the game open with seven runs in the 3rd, scoring all seven after having two out and no one on as nine straight batters reached base. After getting a single run in the 4th, the Bruins closed out their scoring with five more in the 5th.
Southpaw Sam Morland (1-1) and three relievers were the beneficiaries of the Bruins' offensive outpouring. Morland worked six innings, allowing only four hits and three runs, two earned, with four strikeouts and two walks to pick up the win. Ian Buckles, Connor Harris, and Sean Eberhardt each went one inning, Harris recording three strikeouts in the 8th. Concordia starter Ryan Garrett (0-1) took the loss, allowing the Bruins' first three runs in only a third of an inning.
The Bruins were to have played four games in the Cavalier Classic, but another game against Concordia which was rained out on Saturday will be played at a later date to be determined.
NEXT: George Fox (6-1) will play four games next weekend on the road against teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Bruins will play at Occidental College at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, a doubleheader at Occidental on Saturday, Feb. 22, starting at 11:00 a.m., and a single at the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 11:00 a.m.