FOREST GROVE, Ore. – #2 Lewis & Clark College baseball earned a sweep of #1 Pacific University on Championship Sunday to earn their first-ever Northwest Conference Tournament Title, fourth overall NWC title, first NWC title since 1987, and first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
THE BASICS
#2 Lewis & Clark 6, #1 Pacific 4 -- Championship Game #1
#2 Lewis & Clark 10, #1 Pacific 7 -- Championship Game #2
(Lewis & Clark 30-12, 15-9 NWC)
(Pacific 23-12, 18-6 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore Brennen Davis crushed a go-ahead, 3-run home run in the top of the ninth in game one to lift the Pioneers to a 6-4 win and hand Pacific their first loss of the tournament.
The Pioneers carried the momentum into the winner take all game, as Lewis & Clark raced out to a 7-0 lead and held on for a 10-7 win.
GAME ONE RECAP
The Pioneers and Boxers combined for five home runs in a back-and-forth game that saw neither team lead by more than two runs.
Lewis & Clark struck first after Pacific's Hunter Edwards walked senior Jack Thomson and Davis in back-to-back at-bats. Junior Luke Bass hit an RBI single to right field to score Thomson from second and go up 1-0 after the first inning.
The Boxers took a 2-1 lead in the second inning with a solo home run over the right field fence and an RBI single to left field.
Thomson put the Pioneers back on top 3-2 in the third with his 20th home run of the season, a 2-run shot to right field.
Pacific catcher Isaac Lovings hit a solo homer in the third to tie the game. Four innings later, Lovings hit his second solo home run of the game to break the tie and put the Boxers up 4-3. It marked the fourth consecutive long ball to clear the right field fence.
The Pioneers were down to their last two outs of the game with runners at second and third when Davis swung at the 0-1 pitch and launched it over the wall in right field for the game-winning three-run homer.
Junior Anthony Clerici earned his eighth save of the season, facing five Boxer batters in the ninth, giving up only one hit and leaving two stranded. Junior Tyler Shimabukuro earned the win in relief, his fourth of the year.
GAME TWO RECAP
Lewis & Clark continued to rack up the runs in the second championship game of the tournament.
Senior Jack Savant led off the game with a left-field single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and stole third. The Pioneers' two-hole hitter, Thomson, ground out to the pitcher and drove in Savant.
The first three hitters for Lewis & Clark in the third all singled to load the bases. Pacific's Jackson Price hit Davis in the next at-bat to drive in a freshman Brandon Gonzaga. Bass stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs to hit a two-RBI double to right field. After a Boxer pitching change, sophomore Will Heron hit a sacrifice fly and scored Davis from third to put the Pioneers up 5-0.
Two innings later, Thomson led off with a double to left. A Davis walk put runners on first and second for Bass, who singled to center to score Thomson and earn his third RBI of the game. Heron once again hit a sacrifice fly and scored Davis for the 7-0 lead after five innings.
Pacific got two runs back in the sixth with a solo home run by CJ Colyer and an RBI single by Dawson Tokishi that scored Lovings.
Lewis & Clark extended their lead again in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Thomson and Davis. Thomson drove in Gonzaga for his second RBI of the game, then Davis earned his second and third RBI of the game, sending Savant and Thomson home for a 10-2 lead.
The Boxer's Andrew Thomas hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 10-4 heading into the final inning.
Davis moved from centerfield to the mound to close out Pacific. The Boxer's first two batters flew out to center. Ty Yukumoto gave the home team life, hitting a triple to right field on the 3-2 count. Two batters later, with runners on the corners, Lovings hit a double to right and cut the lead to 10-5. Matt Gibbs then hit a two-RBI single up the middle to pull Pacific within 10-7. With the tying run on deck, Davis struck out Thomas swinging to secure the Pioneers' first NWC Tournament Championship.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The previous NWC titles were all won under long-time Lewis & Clark coach Jerry Gatto in 1981, 1983, and 1987.
- Bass finished the day 4-9 with four RBI.
- Davis hit 3-6 with a home run, a double, and six RBI
- Thomson went 5-6 with two walks, three doubles, a home run, a hit-by-pitch, six runs scored, and five RBI. He is tied for 26th in NCAA DIII history with his 46 career home runs and tied for 19th with his 60 hit-by-pitches.
- Pioneer Baseball is the first men's team to win an NWC Tournament and an NCAA Tournament berth since the 2001-02 men's basketball team accomplished the feat.
- The Pioneers' 30 wins are the most since 1992 and only the second 30-win season in the 70+ year history of the program.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark moves on to the regionals, which will be played May 19-21 (double elimination tournament). Last year the bracket was announced on the Monday before regional play at Noon on NCAA.com. We will provide an update on the announcement when we receive more information from the NCAA.