WILSONVILLE, Ore. – Pacific picked up their first two wins of the season behind solid pitching from two of their young starters Saturday as the Boxers swept their games at the NWC-Cascade Challenge at Wilsonville High School.
Pacific received eight scoreless innings from Rob Dittrick (So., Mililani, Hawaii) in the opener, leading the way to a 3-1 Pacific victory over Oregon Tech. Jason Sawyer (Fr., Scappoose, Ore.) threw six strong innings against Concordia (Ore.) and benefited from a five-run fifth inning as the Boxers finished with a 10-7 victory over the Cavaliers.
Kevin Schwartz (Jr., Milwaukie, Ore.) led the Boxers with a four-hit, notching two in each game. His tally also included two doubles. Travis Koon (Fr., Salem, Ore.) had three hits in the twinbill while four Pacific players had two hits in the game against Concordia.
Dittrick put together his best collegiate outing to lead the Boxers against Oregon Tech. He allowed just six hits and three walks with six strikeouts in eight innings before yielding to Dan Wolfe (Sr., Warrenton, Ore.), who picked up his first save of the year.
The Pacific offense, meanwhile, used small ball to give Dittrick some run support. Logan Moen (So., Brier, Wash.) opened scoring in the second when he walk, stole second and scored on a single by Nate Rasmussen (Jr., Sandy, Utah). Nick Tasaka (So., Hawaii Kai, Hawaii) added one in the fifth when he scored on a Koon single. Koon accounted for one run in the eighth when he plated on a sacrifice fly.
The Hustlin' Owls' (3-6) lone run came in the night when Ryan Hayden doubled to start the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly. Matt Bellando took the loss for OIT, allowing the three runs, two earned, on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in eight innings of work.
The victory was a come-from-behind effort against Concordia as the Cavaliers scored all four of their runs against Sawyer in the second inning. Tim Reavis and Danny Brown hit back-to-back singles to score the first two runs and Mike Dickman followed two batters later with a single that score Reavis. Brown capped the frame when he plated on a sacrifice fly.
Pacific took one back in the second when Michael Arakaki (So., Mililani, Hawaii) singled to score Jared Van Hoon (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.). The Boxers then hung a four-spot of their own in the third, scoring two on Mike Nagamine's (Jr., Aiea, Hawaii) double left center field and two moreon a Rasmussen home run to left field.
Pacific padded the lead with a five-run fifth inning. Van Hoon and Justin Liu (Fr., Spokane, Wash.) started scoring with back-to-back RBI singles, with Van Hoon later scoring on a bases loaded walk. Schwartz capped the frame with a two-run double to left field.
Concordia put together a rally in the late innings that fell short. The Cavaliers scored two in the seventh on a sacrifice fly and a Reavis single and one in the eighth on a Sean Myrom triple that scored Danny Baker.
Sawyer earned his first win with a solid effort, allowing four runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts in six innings of work. Josh O'Gorman took the loss for Concordia, allowing all 10 runs on 12 hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Schwartz, Trux French (So., Kennewick, Wash.), Nagamine and Van Hoon all had two hits for the Boxers.
Pacific wraps up their three-set set at the NWC-Cascade Challenge on Sunday morning when they take on Corban.