Whitman could not hold its lead, however. The Crusaders knotted the score
with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and then added four runs in the
sixth to win 13-9.
Whitman managed five hits at the plate, getting one each from five freshmen -- Bobby Jones, Chris Zintel, Cody Ramstad, Jack Brink and Jensen Mauseth.
It was the season opener for both schools.
The opener of the twinbill was up for grabs, however, after Whitman scored seven times in the top of the fifth inning to take a 9-6 lead. After two quick outs, Cody Ramstad singled and stole second. Jack Brink walked, Jensen Mauseth singled to load the bases, and Ramstad scored on a wild pitch. After Martin Telstad ripped a two-run double, Marty Parsons walked, Chris Zintel was hit by a pitch, and Andy Tillo walked to force home another run. The next three runs scored on a wild pitch and throwing error.
Whitman could not hold its lead, however. The Crusaders knotted the score
with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and then added four runs in the
sixth to win 13-9.
Bobby Jones had three hits to pace the Whitman's first-game offense. Telstad, Ramstad and Mauseth added two hits each for the Missionaries.
Whitman managed just five hits in the nightcap -- one each by Ben McPherren, Ben Holscher, Zintel, Ramstad and Jones -- as the Crusader offense ran wild. Holscher's hit was a double.
The Missionaries did some running of their own, stealing 11 bases in the three-game weekend set. Ramstad swiped four bases while Tillo had three.
Several Whitman freshmen had a solid weekend at the plate. Jones
collected five hits in the three games while Ramstad had four. Zintel and
Mauseth had three hits each.
Whitman's Marty Parsons yanked a dramatic three-run, ninth-inning home run to
send the game to extra innings, but Western Baptist eventually escaped
with a 7-5 non-conference victory in 11 innings.With the visitors leading 5-2, the Missionaries rallied in the bottom of the ninth. Ben Holscher walked and Jeremy Lilwall singled to set the stage for Parsons, who ripped his round-tripper to left field to knot the score at 5-5.
Whitman had a chance to win the game later in the inning when, with one out, Ben McPherren walked, Bobby Jones singled and Cody Ramstad walked to load the bases. The Missionaries were unable to push across another run, however, sending the game into extra innings.
Whitman again loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 10th when Holscher was hit by a pitch, Parsons singled and Andy Tillo received an intentional pass. A missed squeeze bunt, however, helped short-circuit that scoring opportunity.
Western Baptist then won the game with a two-run homer in the 11th inning.
Whitman notched its first two runs on a Wade Lockett's fourth-inning home run. Lilwall had two hits in the game, including a double. Tillo also doubled for the Missionaries. McPherren had three stolen bases, while Ramstad swiped two more.
Ramstad started on the mound, and except for one shaky inning, was solid through six frames. Lucas Ward had also had a good outing in relief, hurling the final five innings.
Eddie Reese, Whitman's hard-luck loser in the first game, held Whitworth
in check through the first five innings as the Missionaries grabbed a 5-2
lead. The Pirates narrowed the gap to 5-4 with two runs in the sixth
inning, one of them unearned, and then tacked on three more runs in the
seventh to secure the win.
"Eddie was outstanding," Whitman coach Travis Feezell said. "Whitworth is a very good hitting team, and they finally just scored some runs at the end."
Reese struck out 10 and surrendered just seven hits in his seven innings of work.
Freshman Cody Ramstad slugged a two-run home run in the third inning to give the Missionaries a 3-2 lead. In the fourth frame, Chris Zintel singled, Ben McPherren tripled and Victor Boyer singled as Whitman scored two more runs and stretched its lead to 5-2.
Ramstad and Zintel had two hits apiece in the game.
In Saturday's second game, Whitworth broke in front 8-0 before Whitman rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jeremy Lilwall plated two of those runs with a triple.
The Missionaries added their final three runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Jack Brink and Wade Lockett walked before freshman Ben Holscher cranked
his first collegiate home run.
Bobby Jones rapped a double earlier in the game for Whitman.
Two freshmen, Nick Lyons and Nat Sampson, hurled the final seven and two-thirds innings, holding the Pirates to just four earned runs over that stretch.
"Nick and Nat both threw well," Feezell said. "For the most part, our pitching was much improved this weekend. "We had a chance in all three games, and we could have won two of three very easily."
"I looked out at one point Saturday and we had eight freshmen on the field," Feezell added. "The most important step we need to take now, as a young team, is to learn how to win. We know how to compete and play hard; we just need to learn to win."
Garratt scattered six hits and struck out five. He walked only two, and only two of Central's four runs were earned.
Telstad popped his home run in the third inning. Jeremy Lilwall also had
three hits for the Missionaries, who outhit Central 9-6 on the day.
After suffering through a 14-0 five-inning shutout in the opener of a
Northwest Conference twinbill, Whitman's offense came alive in the
nightcap. The Missionary pitching staff continued to struggle, however,
and the Loggers completed their doubleheader sweep in a 16-8
nine-inning slugfest.Bobby Jones paced the second game offense with four hits. Marty Parsons added three hits, including his second home run of the season. Andy Tillo also had three hits, while Cody Ramstad and Ben McPherren had two hits each.
Whitman trailed by just two runs, 8-6, after four innings. But Puget Sound, which rapped out 19 hits of its own, scored seven times over the last three innings to win going away. Three Whitman pitchers were unable to keep the Loggers in check.
An eight-run fourth inning highlighted Puget Sound's victory in the first game, which was shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule.
The Missionaries had just three hits in the game, two by Marty Parsons.
Whitman jumped in front 4-2 in the nightcap. Bobby Jones led off the top of the first inning with a single, moved to second on Cody Ramstad's walk, sole third and scored on Martin Telstad's infield ground-out.
After Lewis & Clark scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first, the Missionaries added two more runs in the top of the second. Marty Parsons led off the inning with his third home run of the season. With two outs, Ben Holscher singled and took third on another single by Jones. When Jones stole second base and drew a throw, Holscher stole home.
Whitman scored its fourth run in the top of the fourth when Andy Tillo
doubled, stole third and scored on Jones's third single of the game.
But Lewis & Clark took advantage of six Whitman fielding errors to score six runs, three of them unearned, in the fourth and fifth innings to take control.
Whitman closed the gap to 8-5 on Cody Ramstad's sixth-inning RBI-single, but neither team scored again over the final three innings. Ramstad, who started the game in right field, hurled the last three innings, holding the Pioneers hitless and scoreless while striking out three.
Tillo finished with two hits in the game. Wade Lockett ripped a double for the Missionaries.
In the first game, Lockett slugged his second home run of the season in
the top of the first inning to give Whitman a momentary lead. Lewis &
Clark tallied single runs in the first and second innings to take the lead
and then completed the scoring with single runs in the fifth and sixth
frames.
Jack Brink had two of Whitman's seven hits in the opener. Ed Reese started
on the mound for the Missionaries, giving up six hits and three earned
runs over five and one-third innings. He struck out eight and walked six.
Lucas Ward got the final two outs in relief.
The victory improved Whitman's season record to 1-13. The Missionaries had lost six games by three runs or less.
Cody Ramstad stroked four hits, including a home run, to lead a 12-hit
Missionary attack. Marty Parsons and Ben Holscher added two hits apiece.
Cody Ramstad hit his second home run of the day for the Missionaries. Ramstad homered earlier in the day in an 8-0 victory over the University of La Verne. Martin Telstad also homered against UMass, while Bobby Jones collected three hits in that game.
Bobby Jones and Jeremy Lilwall had two hits each to pace the Whitman offense.
Reese scattered 10 hits, walked just one batter and held Cal Lutheran scoreless after the third inning. It marked the second time this season that Reese reached double digits in strike outs. He fanned 10 in seven innings in early March against Whitworth College.
Whitman scored its first run in the sixth inning on a home run by Marty Parsons, his team-leading fourth round-tripper of the season. Ramstad had two hits in the game, including his game-winning double.
Whitman scored once in the top of the fifth inning to move in front 6-3. But Lewis & Clark rebounded for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, knotted the score at 6-6 with a single run in the bottom of the seventh, and then blew the game open with seven runs in the eighth frame.
Both teams pounded out 11 hits. Cody Ramstad led Whitman with four hits, including his fourth home run of the season. Marty Parsons added three hits for the Missionaries.
Whitman rapped 10 hits of its own but couldn't keep pace with North Central's 20-hit attack. Cody Ramstad and Ben McPherren had two hits apiece for the Missionaries.
"George Fox is one of the top teams in the conference, and we stayed with them most of the way in both games," Whitman coach Travis Feezell said.
With the first game tied 1-1 after five innings, George Fox combined a triple and sacrifice fly to score a go-ahead run in the sixth. Then, with two outs in the same inning, the Bruins took advantage of two Whitman errors to score five more times. The visitors added five more runs in the top of seventh to complete the scoring.
Whitman notched its only run of the opener with two outs in the third
inning. Ben McPherren legged out a double to left-centerfield and scored
on a line-shot double down the first base line by Bobby Jones. Ben
Holscher had two hits in the game for Whitman.
In Saturday's nightcap, Whitman jumped in front with six runs in the first inning. Victor Boyer singled and Jones reached on an error, setting the table for Cody Ramstad's team-leading fifth home run of the season. After Jeremy Lilwall reached base on a second George Fox error and Holscher singled, Martin Telstad whacked his third home run of the season to give Whitman its 6-0 lead.
George Fox closed to within 6-5 before Whitman scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend its lead to 8-5. The Bruins moved in front with four runs in the fifth and eventually led 10-9 after six innings. After scoreless seventh, George Fox exploded for eight runs in the final two frames.
Ramstad and Marty Parsons had three hits each for Whitman. Telstad and Lilwall added two hits apiece.
Whitman took a 2-1 lead after the first inning. The Missionaries scored
their first two runs when Victor Boyer singled, Jones ripped a
hit-and-run double and Marty Parsons poked a two-run single to
centerfield. Cody Ramstad followed with a double down the third
base line, moving Parsons to third base, but two strike-outs and an
infield pop fly ended the inning.
George Fox tied the score with a single run in the third inning and took a 7-2 lead with five runs in the fourth. Jones led off the Whitman fifth with his home run, and Brink lined a two-run shot over the left field fence in the sixth. Later in that inning, the Missionaries closed to within 7-6 when Victor Boyer walked, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball.
Grady Blacken, a freshman who has been hampered by arm trouble this spring, hurled two strong innings in relief. After striking out the first batter he faced to end George Fox's fourth inning, Blacken struck four more batters in the next two innings.
Whitman stayed close through the first three innings of the second game before the Bearcats scored five times in the fourth inning to extend its lead to 7-1.
The Missionaries trimmed their deficit to 7-2 in the fifth inning, but Willamette scored in three of the next four innings to win going away. Whitman had six hits in the game, one each by Bobby Jones, Jeremy Lilwall, Martin Telstad, Jack Brink, Rhyan Kyle and Josh McCall.
Whitman's only two hits in the opener were a bunt single by Chris Zintel and a single by Marty Parsons.
Freshman Bobby Jones also had a pair of hits for Whitman.
After the Bearcats scored all 11 of their runs in the first five innings, Whitman's Ed Reese held the visitors hitless over the final four and one-third innings. Reese struck out six and walked two.
Bobby Jones paced Whitman's offense with two hits. Wade Lockett ripped a two-run single in the eighth inning to score Whitman's only two runs.
But PLU scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth inning when the
Missionaries failed to turn a one-out double play, and the Lutes then won the
game 4-3 when Aaron Stevens belted a 400-foot home run with one out in the
bottom of the seventh inning.
PLU's heroics in the late innings spoiled another strong pitching performance by Whitman's Eddie Reese, who scattered six hits and struck out six.
Parsons scored Whitman's first run in the first inning after he singled and moved to third base on Ramstad's single. Parsons then scored on a wild pitch.
With PLU leading 2-1, Whitman's Ben McPherren opened the sixth frame by scooting to second base on a throwing error. After a sacrifice bunt by Bobby Jones moved McPherren to third base, Parsons knotted the score at 2-2 with an RBI sacrifice fly.
Ramstad followed with an opposite-field home run to give the Missionaries their short-lived 3-2 lead.
The game would have counted had either team been leading after a full five innings. "It was a legitimate cancellation," Whitman coach Travis Feezell said. "There was standing water all over the field. There was no way we could play on that field."
A few innings before the game was finally canceled, rain had forced a
delay of about one hour, Feezell said.
Coming so close to a conference victory was a "microcosm of our entire season," Feezell added. "Of the 16 games we have lost, I think it's fair to say we were in a position to win 10 or 11 of them."
In its five at-bats in Saturday's ill-fated second game, Whitman pounded out 12 hits to take its 7-5 lead. "We came out swinging," Feezell said. "We were peppering the ball everywhere."
Freshman Victor Boyer led the way with three singles in three trips to the plate. Cody Ramstad, another freshman, smacked two doubles to drive in three runs. Bobby Jones and Andy Tillo, two more freshmen, also had two hits each. Wade Lockett, one of the few seniors on the squad, knocked in two runs with two hits.
Lucas Ward started on the mound for Whitman and was still throwing with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. The Lutes had the tying runs on first and second bases, however.
Whitman managed just two hits, one of them a double by freshman Jack Brink. Sophomore Marty Parsons has the other Missionary hit. Rob Butler, who drew a walk, was the only other Whitmanite to reach base.
Whitworth scored eight times in the first three innings to post a comfortable early lead.
Whitman freshman Jeremy Lilwall smacked his first collegiate home run in the first game. Bobby Jones had two hits for the Missionaries.
Whitman managed just three hits in the second game, two of which were stroked by Wade Lockett. Jones had the third hit.
In addition to walking 14 batters in game two, Whitman pitchers also hit three batters.
Whitman had five hits in the game -- one each by Victor Boyer, Bobby Jones, Marty Parsons, Cody Ramstad and Jeremy Lilwall.
Chris Zintel, Victor Boyer, Wade Lockett and Ben McPherren had two hits each to spark an 11-hit Whitman attack. The Missionaries also took advantage of eight walks issued by NBI pitchers, and freshman Jeremy Lilwall crushed his second home run in three games while driving in two runs.
Zintel knocked in three runs, while Boyer had two RBI. Cody Ramstad and Bobby Jones both doubled for the Missionaries, and Ramstad swiped a pair of bases.
Whitman's Chris Garratt hurled the first seven innings to notch the pitching victory. He scattered nine hits and struck out five while walking five. He gave up five runs, although only one was earned.
Sven Berg and Eddie Reese combined to throw the final two innings for Whitman. Reese got the final two outs to get the save.
With the scored tied 4-4, Whitman scored a single run in the bottom of the sixth inning and added four more runs in the seventh to take a 9-4 lead. NBI, which is based in Vancouver, B.C., responded with three runs in the top of the eighth inning to cut its deficit to 9-7 and complete the scoring.
Whitman scored three times in the top of the fifth inning to trim its deficit to 8-3. But LCSC scored six times in its next four at-bats to win going away.
Bobby Jones had two singles and two RBI for the Missionaries. Marty Parson rapped a double for Whitman.
In one of those slugfests in which the last team to bat usually wins, the
National Baseball Institute (NBI) of Canada scored twice in the bottom of
the ninth inning to down Whitman 15-14 in an exhibition game played Sunday
in Lewiston, Idaho.NBI, which is based in Vancouver, B.C., took charge early, bolting to a 13-3 lead after seven innings. Whitman rallied with one run in the top of the eighth inning and ten runs in the ninth to take a 14-13 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth.
Not to be outdone, NBI pushed across two runs in its half of the inning to pull out the victory.
Freshman Josh McCall played a key role in Whitman's 10-run ninth. Pinch-hitting early in the inning, McCall was hit by a pitch in the leg and later came around to score. As the rally continued, the left-handed McCall batted again later in the inning, this time ripping a full-count fastball over the right-center field fence for a grand slam home run. It was the first collegiate round-tripper.
Whitman collected 15 hits in all. Marty Parsons led the way with three hits, including a double. Ben McPherren added a double, single and two walks, and he scored three times. Bobby Jones also had a double and single, walked once and knocked in two runs.
Cody Ramstad and Martin Telstad also had two hits apiece.
LCSC, one of the top-ranked NAIA Div. I schools in the country, scored 10 times in the first inning and added six more runs in the next two innings. The Warriors have won nine NAIA national titles since 1984.
Whitman managed just four hits against a trio of LCSC pitchers. Pinch-hitter Andy Tillo had one of those hits in his only appearance at the plate. Marty Parsons, Jeremy Lilwall and Lucas Ward had the other Missionary hits.
With Ben McPherren ripping his first home run of the season, Whitman scored twice in the top of the fourth inning to build its 4-3 lead. After the Wildcats scored once in the bottom of the inning to knot the score, they added four runs in the sixth frame to take control.
McPherren paced the Missionary offense with four hits. Bobby Jones added
three hits, while Marty Parsons had two.
But with their lead down to 7-6, the host Boxers held the Missionaries scoreless the rest of the way and added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 9-6 Northwest Conference victory.
Cody Ramstad and Marty Parsons, Whitman's top sluggers all season, each smacked home runs to pace a 10-hit attack. Ramstad, who leads the team with seven four-baggers, also had a single Friday. Parsons, who had three RBI in the game, now has five homers on the season.
Bobby Jones and Ben Holscher also had two hits. Wade Lockett ripped a double.
Pacific's first-game rally spoiled an otherwise strong pitching performance by Whitman's Chris Garratt. The Missionaries led 3-1 until the Boxers tied the score with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and then won it with a single run in the last of the seventh.
Garratt surrendered just five hits and two walks.
Wade Lockett and Marty Parsons had two hits each for Whitman. Lockett and Cody Ramstad both rapped run-scoring doubles. Bobby Jones knocked in Whitman's other run with a sacrifice fly.
Whitman stayed close through the first four innings of the second game, trailing 3-2. But Pacific broke the game open with four runs in the fifth inning and added five more late in the game to add to its winning margin.
Jones, Parsons and Rob Butler had run-scoring singles for the Missionaries.