WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Three Whitman College relief pitchers combined to throw 4.2 innings of one-hit shutout ball against George Fox University, enabling the Missionaries to overtake the Bruins for a 7-5 victory, giving them to take the Northwest Conference baseball series two games to one Sunday afternoon here at Borleske Stadium.
With the loss, the eighth-ranked Bruins fell to 16-7 overall and 9-3 in the conference, slipping two games in the NWC standings behind front-running Linfield College, which completed a road series sweep of defending league champion Whitworth University with a 10-5 win Sunday. Whitman improved to 9-13 overall and 4-8 in the conference while winning a baseball series from George Fox for the first time ever. It also prevented Bruin coach Marty Hunter from gaining his 150th college coaching win.
Whitman jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings, three of the runs unearned due to two Bruin errors. In the 1st, Kyle Buckham walked, went to third on a wild pickoff throw by pitcher Tom Zarosinski (1-4), and scored on a ground out by Ozzy Braff. In the 2nd, Peter Valentine and Jimmy Madden singled, and Maclean Harned doubled with two out for a run. Two more scored on an error at first.
The Bruins started a comeback in the 4th as Danny Clifford singled to left, advanced on a ground out, and scored on Zach Miller's single to right, and took the lead with a four-run 5th. Taylor Johnson was hit by a pitch, Zac Israel beat out an infield single, and Zach Hegelmeyer reached on an error at third. Derek Dixon hit a sacrifice fly to right for one run, Clifford doubled in another, and Timothy Williams gave the Bruins the lead with a two-run double down the left-field line, knocking out Whitman starter Justin Weeks.
Will Thompson (1-3) relieved and got the win, working 2.2 innings with three strikeouts while allowing one hit and two walks. Robert Maislin threw a 1-2-3 8th with a strikeout, and Aaron Cohen got his first save in the 9th, allowing two runners on a walk and an error but getting two strikeouts to end the game.
Whitman, down a run after the Bruins' rally in the 5th, responded immediately in the home half to regain the lead for good. Braff drew a lead-off walk and Cohen tied it with a triple to right-center. Kyle Moyes hit a sacrifice fly to left for the go-ahead run, and the Missionaries added an insurance run in the 6th off reliever Eric Kittelson as Paul Heywood singled to left, moved up on a sacrifice by Harned, and scored on Buckham's double down the right-field line.
Zarosinski went 4.1 innings, allowing six hits and six runs, three unearned, with three walks and three strikeouts. Kittelson threw the final 3.2 innings, spacing three hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
Clifford and Miller had two hits apiece, half of the Bruins' total of eight. Cameron Young and Madden each had two hits for the Missionaries, who had nine in all.
NEXT: George Fox next hosts Whitworth for three NWC games, with a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday, starting both days at 12:00 noon ... Whitman visits Lewis & Clark College next weekend for three league games, playing one Friday at 3:00 p.m. and two Saturday, starting at 12:00 noon.