PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark earned a pair of 8-7 wins over reigning Northwest Conference Tournament Champions Willamette University on Saturday in their 2025 home opener.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 8, Willamette 7 (10 innings)
Lewis & Clark 8, Willamette 7 (8 Innings)
(Lewis & Clark 4-1)
(Willamette 0-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior Joaquin Sandoval hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning of game one to cap-off a comeback victory. The Pioneers trailed 6-1, before scoring seven runs in the final four innings.
The second game had it's own interesting twists and turns. Lewis & Clark grabbed an 8-3 midway through the game in the midst of a torrential downpour. Willamette rallied to cut the deficit to 8-7 after eighth innings. They scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning and were still at-bat, when the umpires called the game due to darkness – forcing a reset to the last completed inning (8-7 Lewis & Clark after eight).
GAME ONE RECAP
Lewis & Clark scored seven of the final eight runs and Sandoval capped off the rally with his first collegiate walk-off hit to lift the Pioneers to an 8-7 win.
Sophomore Michael Aikawa went a perfect 4-4 with two doubles, a run scored, an RBI and a walk.
Sandoval finished the game 2-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Senior Brennen Davis tacked on two hits, two runs, an RBI and a walk. Sophomore Brandon Gonzaga and senior Justin Cavagnaro each added two hits, a run scored and an RBI. The top-five hitters in the Pioneers lineup all finished with an RBI and combined to go 9-23 with five runs scored and six RBI.
On the mound, sophomore Owen Eisen scattered four hits, four walks and four runs (three earned). He added two strikeouts.
Junior Nate Kerr earned the victory after shutting down the Bearcats bats. He came on in the seventh with the Pioneers trailing 7-4 and a runner on third. Kerr stranded the runner at third base and allowed one walk and no hits in 2.2 innings to earn his first win of the 2025 season.
Lewis & Clark opened the scoring in the second when Aikawa's RBI double to right field scored Cavagnaro from second base.
Willamette took the lead with three runs in the third inning and pushed their advantage to 4-1 after four. Tassos Foster made it 6-1 in the sixth with a two-run double down the right-field line.
After leaving seven runners on through the first six innings, Lewis & Clark struck for three runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
In the seventh, Davis started the scoring with an RBI single to plate first year Will Michelman from second base. With two runners in scoring position and one out, Will Heron made it 6-3 with an RBI groundout that plated Gonzaga. Cavagnaro cut the deficit even further with an RBI double to right that scored Davis.
The Pioneers added three more runs in the eighth to tie the game at seven. The Pioneers opened the inning with back-to-back hits from Aikawa and sophomore Eli Steinhaus. Gonzaga made it 7-5 with an RBI groundout and Davis walked to put the tying run on base. Sandoval brought Lewis & Clark within one on a line drive RBI single to left. Heron loaded the bases with a hit by pitch and the Bearcats mishandled a Cavagnaro grounder that allowed Davis to score the tying run.
After Kerr shut the Bearcats down in the ninth and tenth, Sandoval put the game away in the bottom of the 10th. With two down and no one, Sandoval lifted a fly ball just over the left-center field fence for Lewis & Clark's first home run at home this season.
GAME TWO RECAP
Lewis & Clark used a six-run, fourth inning to take control of the game early and held off the Bearcats rally to earn their fourth-straight win.
Aikawa and sophomore Brett Potter each posted multiple hits to lead the Pioneers offensively. Aikawa went 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Potter added two hits, a run scored and his first collegiate save.
Sophomore Caden Hodina improved to 2-0. He struck out four and limited Willamette to five hits and three runs over five innings.
First year Matt Stanislavsky (1.0), senior Ryan Harvey (1.2) and Potter (0.1) combined to pitch the final three innings for the Pioneers.
Lewis & Clark took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Cavagnaro worked a one-out walk and moved to third on an Aikawa double. First year Will Michelman laced an RBI single to left to open the scoring.
Hodina dominated Willamette the first time through. The sophomore retired the lineup in order and struck out four the first time through. He issued a leadoff walk to start the fourth but picked off the runner. Rocco Granucci tied the game one batter later with a solo shot to right field.
With the rain coming down hard, Lewis & Clark immediately answered with a six-run, fourth inning. Twelve batters came to the plate in the inning, as Lewis & Clark used two hits, three walks, two hit by pitches and two errors to grab a 7-1 lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Gonzaga opened the scoring with a bases-loaded walk. The Pioneers added a run on an RBI groundout from Davis. With two down and the bases loaded, Cavagnaro came through with a two-run single to make it 6-1. Aikawa capped off the scoring by reaching for the eighth-consecutive time (5-5, two walks, one hit by pitch) with a bases-loaded walk.
Willamette responded with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Lewis & Clark pushed one across in their own half. With Steinhaus on second and two outs, Sandoval lifted a ball high into left field and the left fielder stumbled and couldn't make the catch to allow Steinhaus to score.
The visitors scored two runs in the sixth to cut it to 8-5 and added a run in the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Harvey induced a groundout to second to strand the tying run on second.
Willamette made it 8-7 in the top of the eighth and had the tying run on second with two down. Potter came in from right field to relieve Harvey and snagged a comebacker to retire Preston Lau for the final out.
The Bearcats would score for a fifth-straight inning in the top of the ninth inning but their six-runs were wiped out after the game was called due to darkness.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Aikawa finished the day 6-7 with three doubles, two walks and a hit by pitch. The sophomore is now hitting a team-best .571, with a .640 on-base percentage through five starts.
- The Pioneers improved to 2-0 all-time in extra-inning games at Jerry Gatto Field. Last season, the Pioneers defeated UMass Boston 9-8 in 10 innings on a Gonzaga grounder that was misplayed.
- Sandoval hit two home runs in his first 44 collegiate appearances. The junior hit home runs in two of the last three games and is tied for second on the team with two home runs this year.
- Potter is only the third Pioneers on the roster to record a collegiate save. He joins Davis (five) and senior Kyle Wilsie (one).
- The Pioneers snapped a three-game losing streak against the Bearcats with their game one win. Lewis & Clark earned their first sweep of Willamette since at least 2006.
- Sandoval's walk-off home run was the first by a Pioneer since assistant coach Jack Thomson hit a two-run, walk-off homer to defeat Corban on 3-2 on March 29, 2023.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will host #18 University of La Verne on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.