After opening its season with five losses, three of them by three or fewer runs, Whittier took outs its frustrations on Whitman Thursday, pinning a 15-3 defeat on the Missionaries as the D-III Desert Classic got underway in Anthem, Ariz.
Playing its first game of the season, Whitman was hurt by a fifth-inning infield throwing error that led to four unearned runs and a 10-0 Whittier lead. The Poets, who banged out 15 hits, finished second a year ago in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Missionaries plated their three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Freshman Austin Shackelford, who played his high school ball at nearby Brophy College Prep, knocked in a run with one of six Whitman hits. He also walked twice.
Adam Knappe, a junior, smacked a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the ninth and freshman pinch-hitter Joe Rodhouse laced an RBI-single. Senior Drew Pearsall walked and sophomore Calvin Davis singled to get Whitman's ninth inning rolling. Two more freshmen, Sean Day (Seattle, Wash.) and Mike Lazcano (Escondido, Calif.), had Whitman hits earlier in the game. Day's hit was a second-inning double.
Senior Pat Johntson tossed the first five innings for the Missionaries. Junior Mike Rathwell and sophomore Trgyve Madsen hurled two innings to finish the game for the Missionaries.
Getting good mileage from eight hits, La Verne outscored Whitman 11-2 Friday as the D-III Arizona Desert Classic baseball tournament continued Friday in Anthem, Ariz. The Leopards took a 4-0 lead in the third inning, scoring two unearned runs in the wake of a Missionary infield fielding error.
La Verne added two runs in the fifth and broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning.
Whitman scored its two runs in the top of the eighth. After Mike Lazcano was hit by a pitch and Mitch Hanoosh singled, John Nelson was plunked with a pitch to load the bases. Micah Babbitt, a freshman, knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly to center field, and after Mike Minckler walked, Hanoosh scored on a passed ball.
Hanoosh, a freshman from West Newbury, Mass., had two hits in two plate appearances. Babbitt and Minckler also had hits in the game, as did Mike Rathwell and Dan White.
Sophomore Pete Stadmeyer started on the hill for Whitman and went four innings, fanning three and walking three. The three hits he allowed all came in the third inning. Sam Thompson, a junior, threw the final four innings.
Redlands scored seven times in the fourth and fifth innings en route to 13-9 victory over Whitman Saturday afternoon at the D-III Desert Classic in Anthem, Ariz. The Missionaries tallied their final six runs in the bottom of the ninth to make it interesting, but Redlands held on for the win.
Whitman pushed across its first three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, momentarily cutting the Redlands lead to 5-3. Sophomores Dan White and Mike Minckler both singled to ignite the rally. Freshman Austin Shackelford doubled home one run, and senior Drew Pearsall drove home two more with a two-out single.
The Missionaries took advantage of some shaky Redlands pitching for their big ninth inning. Brian Kitamura, Thomas Kost and Adam Knappe led off with walks, and Kitamura scored on a wild pitch. After Micah Babbitt drew another base on balls, Mike Rathwell rapped a two-run single and Shackelford followed with his second run-scoring double of the game. Sean Day drew another base on balls, setting the stage for Kitamura, who singled home two more runs in his second at-bat of the inning.
Knappe, hitting lead-off, reached base three times for the Missionaries. In addition to his ninth-inning base on balls, he was hit-by-a pitch in the first inning and he singled in the seventh.
Freshman Joe Rodhouse, a graduate of nearby O'Connor High School in Phoenix, started on the mound for Whitman and pitched into the fifth frame. Missionary errors in the field made four of the first eight Redlands run unearned. After sophomore Calvin Davis tossed three and two-thirds innings in relief, freshman Orion Hughes-Knowles pitched the ninth frame.
Redlands, the defending Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion, improved to 2-1 on the season while Whitman slipped to 0-3.
Austin Shackelford and Luke Marshall slugged back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning as part of a 14-hit Whitman attack, but it was California Lutheran emerging with a 14-11 victory as the D-III Desert Classic concluded Sunday in Anthem, Ariz.
The Kingsmen scored all 14 of their runs over the first five innings of play. Four of those runs were unearned due to two Whitman errors in the field. For the game, Cal Lutheran rapped nine hits, including two home runs, and accepted nine free passes from Missionary pitchers.
After Kingsmen took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second, Whitman evened the slate with three runs in the top of the third. After freshman Brian Kitamura walked and moved to third on junior Adam Knappe's double, freshman Micah Babbitt knocked home both runners with a single. After sophomore Dan White walked and freshman Sean Day moved the runners up a base with a sacrifice bunt, Babbitt scored on Shackelford's ground-out.
With Cal Lutheran leading 9-3 headed to the top of the fifth, Whitman flexed some muscle. After Day led off with a single, Shackelford, a freshman third baseman, clubbed his first college home to right field. Marshall, a junior outfielder, ripped his round-tripper to left field -- also his first collegiate homer -- on the very next pitch.
Whitman added a single run in the sixth inning when Shackelford was hit by a pitch, took second on Marshall's third hit of the game and scored on a Derek Clovis single.
The Missionaries made things interesting in the ninth inning, scoring four times. After Kitamura and Knappe led off with singles, sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfield walked with one out to load the bases. Day followed with another base on balls to force in a run, and Shackelford singled to plate his fourth RBI of the game. After sophomore John Nelson drew the inning's second bases-loaded walk for a third Whitman run, freshman Mike Lazcano lofted a run-scoring fly ball to right field to cut Cal Lutheran's lead to 14-11.
But with a Missionary runner on third base, the Kingsmen got the game's final out on a pop fly to third.
Knappe, Whitman's shortstop, joined with Marshall in posting a three-hit day. Lazcano added two hits, and Kitamura reached base in all five of his plate appearances, walking three times and getting hit by a pitch in addition to his ninth-inning single.
Cal Lutheran, which posted a 20-19-1 record last season, improved to 5-4 with Sunday's victory. Whitman dropped to 0-4.
Freshman Jason Sease, Whitman's starting pitcher, was relieved with one out in the fourth frame by another freshman, Orion Hughes-Knowles. Senior Pat Johnston and Day wrapped up the final four innings, holding the Kingsmen scoreless while striking out four and giving up just one hit.
Next up on Whitman's schedule is a home twinbill slated for next Sunday, Feb. 25, against NCAA Div. II Central Washington. The first game is set to start at noon at Borleske Stadium.
NCAA Div. II Central Washington University ran its season record to 8-2 with a pair of victories over Whitman on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon at Borleske Stadium. The Wildcats won the opener 14-5 and took the nightcap 10-2 in a game shortened to five innings. The losses dropped the Missionaries to 0-6 on the season.
Whitman stroked 10 hits in game one, but the Wildcats slugged 17 hits of their own, pulling away to a 7-1 lead after six innings and then piling on seven more runs in the final three frames.
Freshman Micah Babbitt got Whitman on the scoreboard in the third inning. He singled to center, took second base on junior Adam Knappe's sacrifice bunt and moved to third on junior Luke Marshall's ground-out to second. Freshman Austin Shackelford's infield single scored Babbitt.
With two outs in the eighth, Whitman picked up its second run. Marshall singled to right and scored on Shackelford's double to right.
The Missionaries loaded the bases in the ninth after sophomores Derek Clovis and Calvin Davis walked and sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld was hit by a pitch. After Knappe's ground-out to second scored a run, Marshall and Shackelford stroked back-to-back RBI-singles.
Whitman plated its two runs in the second game in the second inning. Marshall and Morris-Rosenfeld both singled and then advanced a base on a wild pitch. Sophomore Dan White followed with a two-run single to left.
Of Central's 10 runs, five were unearned due to three Missionary errors.
Whitman returns to Borleske next weekend when it opens Northwest Conference play against Lewis & Clark. Two games are set for Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. Sunday's single game starts at noon.
Raising its early season Northwest Conference record to 4-0, Lewis & Clark ripped 33 hits in posting 11-1 and 16-6 victories over Whitman Saturday afternoon at Borleske Stadium.
Greg Williams knocked in five runs with three hits, including two triples, to pace the Pioneer attack in the opener. Williams added a solo home run in game two, but it was teammate Corey Lowell who stroked four hits and knocked in three runs to power the Lewis & Clark offense in the nightcap.
Saturday's twinbill was Whitman's first taste of NWC action this season. Now 0-8 overall, the Missionaries look for their first victory at noon Sunday when Lewis & Clark returns to Borleske for the series finale. The Pioneers are 4-4 on the season.
Whitman's Pat Johnston, a senior lefty, kept the Missionaries close in Saturday's first game. Lewis & Clark broke through in the third inning, getting a run-scoring sacrifice fly and a two-run triple from Williams to ease in front 3-0. Johnston surrendered single runs in the sixth and seventh frames as the Pioneers extended their lead to 5-0.
Meanwhile, Jordon Smiley was superlative in going the distance on the mound for the Pioneers. The senior right-hander scattered five hits while striking out five and walking two. Pinch-runner Mitch Hannoosh plated Whitman's only run in the eighth inning. Running for Drew Pearsall, who opened the inning with a walk, Hannoosh moved to third on Matt Morris-Rosenfeld's single to right field and scored on Adam Knappe's groundout to first base.
Micah Babbitt, a freshman second baseman, had two of Whitman's five hits. Two more freshmen, Sean Day and Joe Rodhouse, also had hits for the Missionaries.
In its final two at-bats, Lewis & Clark tacked on six runs against two Whitman relievers. In addition to the three hits from Williams, the Pioneers also got two hits each from Sam Marthinsen, A.J. Brown, Neal Finch and Abe Kaempf.
Lewis & Clark jumped in front to start game two with three runs in the top of the first. The Pioneers had just two hits in the inning but also capitalized on two hit-batters, two passed balls and a run-scoring sacrifice fly. Whitman made it 3-2 with two unearned runs in the bottom of the second. Luke Marshall reached on an infield error and moved around to third base on Morris-Rosenfeld's infield single and a second Pioneer error. After freshman Michael Lizcano lifted an RBI-sacrifice fly to center field, Whitman tallied its second run thanks to two more Lewis & Clark errors.
The Pioneers upped their lead to 6-2 after three innings and blew the game open with eight more runs in innings four, five and six. Whitman cranked up its offense in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four times. After Thomas Kost and Chad Frisk singled, freshman Austin Shackelford smacked a two-run triple to right field. Day doubled home Shackelford and then scored on a Lewis & Clark error.
Lewis & Clark collected 19 hits in the second game. In addition to Lowell's four hits, Joey Rios and Finch added three hits apiece. The Pioneers also got two hits each from Sami Morgan, Jordan Shibata and T.J. Witkowski.
Shackelford, Morris-Rosenfeld and Lazcano had two hits each for Whitman.
Eric Maroncelli threw six-plus innings of one-hit ball as Lewis & Clark completed a three-game weekend sweep of Whitman with a 9-3 Northwest Conference victory Sunday afternoon at Borleske Stadium.
The Pioneers remain unbeaten in conference play, improving to 5-0 in the NWC and to 5-4 overall. Whitman is 0-3 in conference and 0-9 on the season.
Maroncelli, a senior right-hander, walked two and hit two batters in addition to giving up Mike Rathwell's third-inning double. Apparently on a pitch count, Maroncelli gave way to reliever Tyler Smit with the sacks clear and two outs in the seventh inning. The Pioneers led 7-2 at that point.
Lewis & Clark, which racked up 27 runs in Saturday's doubleheader sweep, had little luck with Whitman starter Pete Stadmeyer, a sophomore lefty, through Sunday's first five innings. After the Pioneers used an infield hit, two stolen bases and an infield error to score an unearned run in the top of the first, Stadmeyer held the visitors scoreless with just one hit over the next three innings.
Meanwhile, Whitman evened the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third when Rathwell ripped a line-shot double over the left fielder's head, moved to third on a ground-out to the shortstop and scored on the back end of a double-steal. With Rathwell still on third, Adam Knappe drew a two-out walk and stole second base on an 0-2 count. As Knappe narrowly beat the throw to second, Rathwell scampered home.
Lewis & Clark reclaimed the lead with a run in the fifth inning. With two outs and Sami Morgan on first base. Sam Marthinsen slapped a soft liner into short right-center field that a diving Brian Kitamura nearly caught. Morgan, who was running on the pitch, scored as Marthinsen pulled into second with a double.
The Pioneers broke the game open with four runs in the sixth inning. Greg Williams led off with a walk, took third on Corey Lowell's single and scored on A.J. Brown's flyball to center field. With Stadmeyer tiring, Lowell scored on a wild pitch, Neal Finch singled and Mike Giarina walked. That ended Stadmeyer's day, and while reliever Sam Thompson fanned his first hitter, a wild pitch allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Morgan then delivered a key two-out hit, blooping a single to center that scored two runs and gave Lewis & Clark a 6-1 cushion.
Whitman countered with a single run off Maroncelli in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-2. Micah Babbitt was hit by a pitch, took second base when Austin Shackelford nearly beat out a bunt, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Luke Marshall's ground-out.
After Lewis & Clark extended its lead to 8-2, Whitman threatened to pull itself back into the game in the bottom of the eighth. Babbitt led off with a bunt single to third, advanced to second on Shackelford's sharp groundball to first, and scored when Marshall's line-shot single up the middle was mishandled by the center fielder. The Missionaries then loaded the bases when Matt Morris-Rosenfeld walked and Michael Lazcano reached on an infield error. But the Pioneers then turned a doubleplay to escape further damage.
After Lewis & Clark countered with an unearned run in the top of the ninth for a 9-3 lead, Evan Fairmont retired Whitman in order in the bottom of the inning.
Lowell, who had four hits in Saturday's second game, lined out to right field in his first at-bat Sunday and then singled in his next four trips to the plate.
Whitman plays next weekend at George Fox. Lewis & Clark is slated to play a non-conference game Tuesday against Corban before hosting Whitworth next weekend.
George Fox remained undefeated on the season, and kept Whitman winless, by sweeping a pair of Northwest Conference games from the Missionaries, 19-0 and 20-0, Sunday afternoon at Morse Field in Newberg, Ore. The Bruins are 11-0 on the season and 5-0 in the NWC. The Missionaries are 0-11 and 0-5.
Pete Stadmeyer, a sophomore left-hander, kept Whitman close through the first four innings of the opener, holding George Fox to just one run on three hits. The Bruins broke through in the fifth, scoring six runs on four hits, three walks and three Missionary errors. Stadmeyer was relieved with two outs, a man on and George Fox in front 4-0.
George Fox, in search of its sixth straight NWC title, added two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh. The Bruins then broke the game wide open with eight runs on eight hits in the eighth inning.
While George Fox piled up 22 hits in the opener, Whitman managed just five -- three by freshman Micah Babbitt. After singling in his first two at-bats, Babbitt doubled to right field in the fifth. Freshman Austin Shackelford and sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld had Whitman's other two hits, and each player drew a base on balls.
George Fox broke things open quickly in game two, scoring eight runs in the first three innings before exploding for eight more runs in the fourth frame. Adam Knappe, Whitman's junior shortstop, had two of his team's four hits. Calvin Davis and Babbitt had one hit apiece. Babbitt, who also walked twice, finished his day with four hits in six official at-bats, raising his season batting average to a team-best .375.
Sunday's twinbill, originally scheduled for Saturday, was pushed back a day because of wet weather. The two teams hope to complete the three-game set with a single game at noon Monday.
George Fox scored three runs in both the second and third innings en route to a 14-1 Northwest Conference victory over Whitman Monday afternoon in Newberg, Ore. The win gave the Bruins a sweep of the three-game weekend series, which was pushed back a day by wet weather.
Whitman, which has a roster dominated by 18 freshmen and sophomores, is now 0-6 in the NWC and 0-12 on the season. George Fox, which has won or shared the last five conference titles, upped its records to 6-0 and 12-0.
Whitman nearly drew first blood in the second inning when sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfield rapped a one-out double to left field. With two outs, sophomore Derek Clovis and senior Drew Pearsall drew walks to load the bases, but a ground-out to third ended the Missionary threat. The Bruins then jumped in front in the bottom of the inning, bunching three hits and three walks to grab a 3-0 lead.
George Fox scored in each of the next four innings to inflate its lead to 14-0. Whitman broke up the shutout in the ninth inning when senior pinch-hitter Thomas Kost reached on an infield throwing error, took second on a wild pitch and scored on junior Mike Rathwell's two-out, pinch-hit single to left.
A Missionary scoring opportunity slipped away in the eighth after freshman Austin Shackelford doubled and took third base on junior Luke Marshall's single to left. The Bruins escaped the inning unscathed, however, by turning a 4-6-3 doubleplay. The George Fox defense, while it was guilty of two errors in the game, turned three doubleplays in all, one of which erased Pearsall's single to start the fifth inning.
Whitman freshman Micah Babbitt, who had four hits in six at-bats in Sunday's two games, was hit by pitches in three of his plate appearances Monday.
Both teams were in search of their first Northwest Conference victories, and both squads got what they wanted as Whitman and Willamette squared off in a Northwest Conference baseball twinbill Saturday afternoon at Borleske Stadium.
After the host Missionaries rallied for six runs in their final two at-bats to win the opener 7-6, Willamette rebounded to win the nightcap 6-1. The weekend series concludes with a single game at noon Sunday.
Whitman, now 1-7 in the NWC and 1-12 overall, captured Saturday's game one in dramatic fashion. After scoring four times in the eighth inning to pull to within 6-5, the Missionaries scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the ninth on freshman Austin Shackelford's bases-loaded single to right field. In game two, the Bearcats (1-6 NWC, 7-10 season) got strong pitching from Clint Moran and Ryan Smith and two RBI apiece from David Tufo and Grant Yamaguchi to get the doubleheader split.
Trailing 6-1 in game one, Whitman quickly loaded the bases in the eighth inning on Micah Babbitt's walk and singles by Shackelford and Adam Knappe. Luke Marshall then delivered the big blow, smacking a three-run double down the left-field line. Marshall then moved to third base on Matt Morris-Rosenfeld's single to right field and scored the fifth Missionary run when Derek Clovis grounded out to second base.
In the last of the ninth, Dan White and Babbitt reached on walks and moved up a base when Adam Knappe pushed a sacrifice bunt toward first. Willamette first baseman Grant Yamaguchi fielded the bunt and failed in his bid to gun down the lead runner at third base. With the bases loaded and no outs, Shackelford stepped to the dish and pulled his game-winning single through the right side of the infield.
Reliever Sam Thompson, who took over for starter Pat Johnston in the sixth inning, got the pitching victory for the Missionaries. Johnston allowed just two runs on three hits over the first five frames. Shackelford, Morris-Rosenfield and Knappe had two hits each to pace the Whitman offense. It was Knappe's two-out single to center field that drove home Whitman's first run in the fifth inning.
David Tofu led Willamette with two doubles and single, in addition to two sacrifice bunts. Zach Kimball had a pair of run-scoring hits, one of them a triple. Ryan Peterson also had two hits for the Bearcats.
In Saturday's second game, after Tufo's RBI-single in the top of the third gave Willamette a 1-0 lead, Whitman loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning. Knappe walked, moved to second base on Shackelford's single to right and scooted into third on Marshall's infield single. But Moran, Willamette's starting pitcher, fanned his third batter of the inning to end the threat.
Willamette made it 2-0 in the top of the sixth inning when Sean Anderson led off with a double, stole third base and scored on Yamaguchi's RBI fly to center.
After stranding six runners in the first four innings, Whitman put a run on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Marshall drew a base on balls, took second base on Michael Lazcano's sacrifice bunt, rounded third on Dan White's single to left field and scored on Willamette's errant throw into the infield.
Sean Day, Whitman's next batter, was hit by a pitch, giving the Missionaries two runners on base with only one out. With his pitching stint nearing an end, Moran retired the next hitter on his ninth strike-out of the game and got the inning's third out on a foul pop to first base. The Bearcats then pulled away with two runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth.
Willamette also got a strong relief performance from Ryan Smith, who held Whitman hitless over the last three innings, issuing three walks by striking out two.
Mike Rathwell, getting his first pitching start for the Missionaries, also threw well, scattering six hits and allowing just two runs over the first five innings. Whitman managed just three hits on the offensive end, although the Missionaries also drew nine walks and had two batters hit by pitches.
Tufo again paced the Bearcats with three hits. Yamaguchi, Peterson and Ellis Webster added two hits each.
Matt Rasmussen ripped four hits and scored a pair of runs to power Willamette to a 6-2 Northwest Conference victory over Whitman Sunday afternoon at Borleske Stadium.
Rasmussen, a senior shortstop, drilled a run-scoring double in the eighth and added an RBI-single in the ninth as Willamette scored four times in its final two at-bats. The Bearcats, winning two of three games in the weekend series, improved to 2-6 in the NWC and 8-10 overall. Whitman dropped to 1-8 and 1-14.
Starters Pete Stadmeyer for Whitman and Jarrid Summers for Willamette were locked in a pitching duel through the first six innings. Both sophomore hurlers scattered five hits and surrendered two runs before giving way to their respective bullpens.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, Whitman punched across a pair of runs in the second. Mike Minckler walked, Brian Kitamura was hit by a pitch and Calvin Davis walked, setting the table for Adam Knappe's two-run single to left field.
Willamette got one of those runs back in the top of the third. Zach Kimball walked, moved up a base when Ryan Peterson was hit by a pitch, took third on Kelly Gilmore's infield single and sped home when Ellis Webster lined out to right field.
The Bearcats scratched out another run in the fourth. Rasmussen rocketed a lead-off double off the base of the left-field wall, advanced to third base on Ty Ericksen's sacrifice bunt and scored on David Tofu's ground out to third.
That was it for the scoring until Willamette broke through with a pair of unearned runs in the eighth inning. A Missionary infield error, coming on the heels of Rasmussen's second double of the game, gave the Bearcats four outs in the inning, and Kimball made the home team pay when he dumped a two-out, run-scoring single to right field. Peterson followed with a sharp single up the middle to give Willamette a 4-2 lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Whitman generated a threat when Minckler singled to right and Derek Clovis walked. But those were the only base runners allowed by Willamette reliever Jimmy Meuel as he tossed the final three innings to earn the win.
The Bearcats added two insurance runs in the ninth, sandwiching singles by Webster and Rasmussen around Grant Yamaguchi's triple into the right-field corner. It was Yamaguchi's second hit of the game.
Minckler had two of Whitman's six hits.
Whitman hosts its annual Kight Invitational later this week. Two California schools, Bethany College and Simpson University, will join Whitman for the three-team, double round-robin tournament. The games will be played Thursday through Saturday at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend, Ore.
Willamette hosts Whitworth next weekend in a three-game NWC series in Salem, Ore.
Bethany University slugged six extra-base hits, including three home runs, to power past Whitman 12-7 as the annual Kight Invitational got underway Thursday morning at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend, Ore.
Whitman, the tournament host, fell behind 12-3 before scoring a pair of runs in each of its last two at-bats to close the gap on the scoreboard. Bethany, an NAIA Div. II squad from Santa Cruz, Calif., improved to 14-10 on the season. The Missionary record slipped to 1-15.
Bethany pounded out 16 hits and took advantage of four Whitman errors to score six unearned runs. With the Bruins leading 6-0, the Missionaries plated three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to climb back into the game. After Michael Lazcano was hit by a pitch and Thomas Kost drew a base on balls, Brian Kitamura rapped a one-out, run-scoring single to left field. A balk by Bethany hurler Mark Koski forced home a second run, and Adam Knappe poked an RBI-double to center.
The Bruins regained the upper hand with four runs in the sixth inning and two more in the eighth. Whitman got two runs back in the bottom of the eighth. After Micah Babbitt singled and Austin Shackelford reached base on an infield error, Luke Marshall drove home one run with an infield single. The Missionaries tallied a second run when Bethany committed its second error of the inning, this one by the right fielder.
With one out in the ninth, Whitman loaded the bases when Matt Morris-Rosenfeld and Jon Nelson singled and Babbitt walked. Shackelford was hit by a pitch, forcing in one run. A wild pitch scored another Missionary run before Bethany reliever Steven Martinez closed out the win.
Marshall and Babbitt both contributed two hits to Whitman's nine-hit attack.
Game two of the tournament, set for this afternoon, pits Whitman against NAIA-affiliated Simpson University (Redding, Calif.). The three-team, double round-robin tournament continues with two more games on Friday and a final two contests on Saturday.
Bud Kight, a 1952 Whitman graduate who starred in both baseball and basketball for the Missionaries, sponsors the annual tournament. A retired attorney, he now lives in Wenatchee, Wash.
With freshman right-hander Sean Day throwing a shutout for seven innings and the offense exploding for a season-high 19 hits, Whitman pinned a 14-11 loss on Simpson University in Thursday's second game of the Kight Invitational, which the Missionaries are hosting at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend, Ore.
After Day surrendered two runs in the eighth inning, Simpson made it interesting against Whitman's bullpen in the ninth, scoring nine times on three hits, five walks, two hit batters and an infield error. Once the Red Hawks had closed to within three runs, freshman reliever Brian Kitamura entered the contest and walked the first batter he faced to bring the tying run to the plate. But Kitamura got the game's final out a ground ball to pick up his first college save and preserve Day's first college victory.
Day, making his first start on the hill for the Missionaries, held Simpson scoreless over the first seven innings, scattering five hits while striking out two and walking two.
Calvin Davis and Matt Morris-Rosenfeld clubbed run-scoring triples in the second and third innings to kick Whitman's offense into high gear. Then, in the fourth inning, Derek Clovis led off with a double to spark a three-run Whitman uprising. Two of those runs scored courtesy of a Simpson error, and Morris-Rosenfeld knocked home the third run with an infield single.
Clovis also opened the fifth inning with a double. Mike Rathwell followed with an RBI-single and later scored when Davis doubled to right field. Davis then scored on another Simpson error, extending Whitman's lead to 8-0.
The Missionaries tacked on four more runs in the sixth frame. Singles by Thomas Kost and Rathwell, sandwiched around a Clovis walk, loaded the bases. After Dan White slapped an RBI-single through the right side, two runs scored on Simpson's third error of the game. Whitman notched its final run of the inning on pinch-hitter Jason Sease's triple to left-center field.
Whitman got its final two runs in the seventh. After Mitch Hannoosh singled and Morris-Rosenfeld doubled, Joe Rodhouse clouted a two-run run double to left field.
A dozen Missionaries had hits in the game. Morris-Rosenfeld led the way with three safeties, raising his team-leading batting average to .406. Five of his teammates had two hits each: Luke Marshall, Austin Shackelford, Clovis, Rathwell and Davis. Clovis, who also walked twice, scored four runs.
Simpson, an NAIA school in Redding, Calif., saw its season record fall to 2-21. The Red Hawks have lost 11 of those games, however, by three runs or less. Whitman, which has 18 freshmen and sophomores on its roster, is now 2-15 on the season.
The tournament continues Friday when Simpson and Bethany University play at 11 a.m. Whitman and Bethany then tangle at 2 p.m.
Failing to hold early leads of 4-2 and 6-4, the Whitman men's baseball team dropped a 9-7 decision to Bethany University Friday afternoon on day two of the Kight Invitational at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend, Ore.
Whitman, the tournament host, plays its final game at 10 a.m. Saturday against Simpson University. Bethany and Simpson then play the tourney finale on Saturday afternoon.
The Missionaries grabbed the early lead Friday with a run in the second inning. Freshman Austin Shackelford singled, stole second base, took third on a passed ball and scored when junior Luke Marshall singled up the middle. In the third, sophomore John Nelson walked and junior Adam Knappe singled to set the stage for a three-run inning. Shackelford's infield single scored Nelson from third base, and Marshall followed with a two-run double.
Bethany, an NAIA school in Santa Cruz, Calif., cut its deficit in half in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on three hits. After the Bruins knotted the score at 4-4 in the fourth inning, the Missionaries moved back in front with two runs in the top of the fifth. Freshman Micah Babbitt was hit by a pitch, Knappe reached on an error and Shackelford knocked a run-scoring single through the right side of the infield. Sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld made it 6-4 Whitman with a run-scoring infield single later in the inning.
Bethany turned the tables in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five times to lead 9-6. With one out in the eighth frame, Whitman loaded the bases when freshman Jason Sease singled in advance of walks to sophomore Dan White and Babbitt. Knappe grounded into a force out at second base as pinch-runner Brian Kitamura scored from third base to make it 9-7. The Bruins got out of the inning on another groundball out.
The Missionaries put the tying runs on base in the ninth but failed to score. Marshall led off with a double and advanced to third base on a ground out. With two outs, sophomore Derek Clovis walked to put runners on the corner. But Bethany's Steven Martinez, who tossed the last four innings to get the win, recorded the game's final out on a pop fly to the shortstop.
Freshman Austin Shackelford's third-inning grand slam homer and sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld's three-run round-tripper in the fifth sparked the Whitman men's baseball team to a 17-8 shellacking of Simpson University Saturday morning at the Kight Invitational in Bend, Ore.
Ahead 8-4 after five innings, the Missionaries broke the game open with a seven-run sixth inning that included a three-run double off the bat of sophomore Derek Clovis. Racking up a season-high total in runs scored, Whitman collected 15 hits and 10 walks and had four batters hit by pitches. Missionary junior Luke Marshall was hit three times and scored two runs.
Whitman, the tournament host, finished with a 2-2 record in the three-day, three-team double round-robin format. Simpson was 0-3 headed into the tournament finale Saturday afternoon against 3-0 Bethany University (Santa Cruz, Calif.).
Mike Rathwell, a Whitman junior, started on the mound and tossed five innings to get the win. He scattered nine hits, struck out five and walked just one batter. Freshman Orion Hughes-Knowles threw the final four innings as the Missionaries raised their season record to 3-16.
After Simpson plated a first-inning run on a sacrifice fly, Whitman put a five-spot on the scoreboard in the third. Sophomore Mike Minckler led off with a double, Clovis singled and sophomore John Nelson walked to load the bases. With two outs, junior Adam Knappe drew another base on balls to force in a run. Shackelford, who leads Whitman with 20 RBI in 19 games, followed with his second home run of the season to give the Missionaries a 5-1 lead.
Simpson, an NAIA squad from Redding, Calif., answered with three runs in the bottom of the third. In the Whitman fifth, Morris-Rosenfeld belted his first homer of the season after Shackelford walked and Marshall was hit by a pitch. In the Missionary sixth, White singled to right, took second base on Nelson's sacrifice bunt and scored the first of seven Whitman runs on freshman Micah Babbitt's single. After Knappe singled and Shackelford walked to load the sacks, Marshall and Minckler were hit by pitches to force home two more runs. Clovis cleared the bases with a double to right-center field and later scored on freshman Brian Kitamura's single.
Simpson trimmed its deficit to 15-8 in its next two at-bats, but Whitman countered with single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. In the eighth, Minckler rapped his second double of the game and scored on White's single. In the ninth, senior Thomas Kost reached base on an error and scored on freshman Mitch Hannoosh's single up the middle.
Both Shackelford and Minckler scored three runs. Knappe, Marshall and Clovis each scored two times for the Missionaries.
Bud Kight, a 1952 Whitman graduate who starred in both baseball and basketball for the Missionaries, sponsors the annual tournament. A retired attorney, he now lives in Wenatchee, Wash.
Whitman's next scheduled game is Wednesday at NCAA Div. II Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The Missionaries return to Northwest Conference play next weekend with a three-game series at Whitworth in Spokane.
With both sides preserving pitching for weekend conference games, Central Washington University held off Whitman 11-10 Wednesday afternoon at Tomlinson Field in Ellensburg, Wash.
The NCAA Div. II Wildcats bolted to a 9-0 lead after five frames and then withstood an eight-run Whitman seventh inning to get the victory, improving to 13-6 on the season. The Div. II Missionaries saw their season mark fall to 3-17.
Central Washington tallied three runs in the first inning and four more in the fifth to build its big early lead. Blanked over the first six innings, Whitman's offense erupted for eight runs in the seventh, combining four hits with six walks and one Wildcat error. Freshman Mitch Hanoosh singled twice in the inning, scored twice and knocked in a run. Junior Mike Rathwell walked early in the inning and later slapped an RBI-single to left field. Sophomore Derek Clovis also reached base twice in the inning, combining a single with a base on balls.
Three Missionaries -- junior Luke Marshall, sophomore John Nelson and freshman Austin Shackelford -- drew bases-loaded walks to collect RBI's in the big inning. Nelson also knocked in a run with a fielder's choice, as did freshman Micah Babbitt. Sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld drove home a run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
With Whitman back in the game, Central Washington countered with a run in the bottom of the seventh, extending its lead to 10-8. Whitman got that run back in the top of the eighth when junior Adam Knappe singled, took second on Marshall's sacrifice bunt and scored on Shackelford's single to right-center field.
The Wildcats came right back with a run in the bottom of the eighth, regaining a two-run cushion at 11-9. Whitman's first two hitters in the ninth struck out, but Nelson walked and Babbitt was hit by a pitch to put the tying runs on base. As Knappe, the next hitter, was beating out an infield single, the throw from the Wildcat shortstop sailed past the first baseman, allowing Nelson to score and Babbitt and Knappe to move into scoring position. But Noah McCurdy, Central Washington's sixth pitcher, got the game's final out on a ground ball to second to preserve the win.
Whitman also used six pitchers, three of them freshmen, in contest.
Knappe had three of Whitman's 11 hits, and he also drew one of 10 Missionary free passes. Clovis, who had one hit in two official at-bats, walked three times.
Whitman returns to Northwest Conference action this weekend with a three-game series at Whitworth in Spokane. Central opens its Great Northwest Athletic Conference season this weekend with a four-game, home-and-away series with Saint Martin's.
Whitworth outscored Whitman 14-13 in the opener and shut down the Missionaries 9-0 to sweep a Northwest Conference baseball twinbill Saturday afternoon in Spokane, Wash.
The first game was nip and tuck with the two teams deadlocked 5-5 after three innings and Whitman on top 8-6 after four frames. Whitworth seized the lead with a six-run sixth inning, but the Missionaries scored twice in the seventh and eighth to pull even at 12-12. After the Pirates plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to regain the lead, Whitman threatened again in the ninth.
The Missionaries quickly closed to 14-13 when Luke Marshall reached on an infield error, took second base on a wild pitch and scored on Austin Shackelford's single. With one out, Mitch Hannoosh was hit by a pitch to move Shackelford into scoring position at second base. But Whitworth reliever Stephen Baranowski fielded a comebacker from the next hitter, starting a 1-6-2 doubleplay to preserve the Pirate victory.
Game two was a pitcher's duel for six innings. Chad Flett, a junior transfer from Spokane Community College, went eight innings for Whitworth, shutting down the Missionaries on four hits while striking out nine and not walking a single batter. Sean Day, a freshman who started on the hill for Whitman, surrendered two solo home runs in the first inning but kept the Missionaries close through six innings. The Pirates made it 3-0 in the third inning and 4-0 with an unearned run in the fifth. Whitworth then broke the game open with five runs in the seventh inning.
Adam Knappe, who had one of Whitman's four hits, also drew a base on balls and dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Shackelford, Marshall and Micah Babbitt had the other Missionary game-two hits.
Saturday's first game was a different story for the Whitman offense. The Missionaries outhit Whitworth 14-11, drew seven walks and had three batters hit by pitches.
In the Whitman first, Knappe walked, scooted to third base on Marshall's single and scored on Shackelford's ground-out. After Derek Clovis singled, Mike Rathwell was hit by a pitch and Brian Kitamura walked, Babbitt lofted a run-scoring sacrifice fly to center field.
Down 4-2 after two innings, Whitman jumped in front with three runs in the third. With one out, Shackelford doubled, was balked to third base and scored on a wild pitch. With two outs, after Clovis singled and Rathwell walked, Drew Pearsall and Kitamura followed with run-scoring singles.
The Missionaries widened their lead to 8-5 with three more runs in the fourth. With two outs, Shackelford was hit by a pitch and Matt Morris-Rosenfeld walked. Shackelford then scored as a Pirate throwing error extended the inning. After Rathwell singled home a second run, Clovis scored when he and Rathwell pulled off a double steal.
Trailing 8-6, Whitworth used five hits and a Whitman error to tally six runs in the bottom of the sixth. Whitman countered with two runs in the top of the seventh, trimming its deficit to 12-10. Rathwell led off with a double and scored on Kitamura's single. Babbitt's single sent Kitamura to second, and Marshall drove home the run with another single.
The Missionaries made it 12-12 with two more runs in the eighth inning. A Whitworth error and walks by John Nelson and Kitamura loaded the bases, setting the stage for Babbitt's two-out, two-run single.
Whitworth eased in front 14-12 with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, taking advantage of two hit batters and a base on balls. Those two runs proved to be just enough to hold off Whitman in the ninth. Six Missionaries finished the game with two hits each: Babbitt, Marshall, Shackelford, Clovis, Rathwell and Kitamura.
The two teams complete their weekend series with a single game at noon Sunday. Whitman heads to that game with records of 1-10 in the NWC and 3-19 on the season. Whitworth is 9-14 overall and 7-7 in conference.
Down 5-2 headed to the ninth inning, Whitman rallied for seven runs and pinned a 9-5 Northwest Conference baseball loss on Whitworth Sunday afternoon in Spokane, Wash.
Pat Johnston, one of the few seniors on the Missionary squad, went the distance on the mound to get the victory. He gave up nine hits but held the Pirates to five runs, only three of them earned. The left-hander walked two and struck out three.
Freshman Austin Shackelford, one of the conference leaders in RBI, opened Whitman's ninth with a single. With one out, freshman Mitch Hannoosh slapped a pinch-hit single, sending Shackelford to third base. A balk scored Shackelford, cutting Whitman's deficit to 5-3, and moved Hannoosh to second base.
But when Whitman's next hitter grounded out to third base, the Missionaries were down to their last out. Freshman Jason Sease kept the inning alive with an RBI-single that made it 5-4. After freshman Brian Kitamura was hit by a pitch, freshman Micah Babbitt walked to load the bases. The game turned when Adam Knappe, the next hitter, rapped what should have been a game-ending ground ball to shortstop. But a throwing error on the play allowed Sease to score the tying run.
Whitman's next two hitters made the Pirates pay a steep price for the miscue. Luke Marshall, a junior, stroked a two-run single and advanced to second base on the throw to the plate. Shackelford, batting for the second time in the inning, popped another two-run single, pushing the Missionary lead to 9-5.
In the Whitworth ninth, Johnston gave up a one-out single but retired the last two batters on fly balls.
The Pirates jumped in front early in the game, scoring single runs in the second and third innings. They tacked on two more runs in the fourth and led 4-0 before Whitman, held hitless for the first five innings, scratched out its first run in the top of the seventh. Marshall led off that inning with a single, raced to third base on a Matt Morris-Rosenfeld single and came home on a passed ball.
After Whitworth scored in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-1 lead, Whitman got its second run in the top of the eighth. Freshman Michael Lazcano led off with a single, and Kitamura advanced pinch-runner John Nelson to second base with a sacrifice bunt. Nelson took third on Babbitt's single and scored on an infield out.
With Babbitt, Marshall, Shackelford and Lazcano collecting two hits each, Whitman outhit the Pirates 11-9.
Whitman improved to 2-10 in the NWC and 4-19 overall. Whitworth dropped to 9-15 and 7-8.
The Missionaries return home next weekend to host Puget Sound in a three-game NWC series. Because of the Easter holiday, that series begins at 2 p.m. Friday with a doubleheader at Borleske Stadium. The third game is set for noon Saturday.
Derek Clovis rapped a two-out, run-scoring single to cap a nine-run, ninth-inning comeback as Whitman rallied for an improbable 15-14 victory over Puget Sound in the nightcap of a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader Friday at Borleske Stadium. Puget Sound won the opener 16-4.
With its game two triumph, Whitman improved to 3-11 in the NWC and 5-20 on the season. The Loggers take records of 10-7 and 11-15-1 into Saturday's series finale, which starts at noon.
With Friday's second game tied 4-4, Puget Sound pushed across 10 runs in the top of the seventh and was just a handful of outs away from a doubleheader sweep. Whitman struck back for two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Missionaries still headed to its final at-bat in a 14-6 hole.
Adam Knappe and Luke Marshall drew walks to set Whitman's monumental rally in motion. Austin Shackelford singled in one run, and both he and Marshall moved up an extra when the ball was mishandled in left field. After Matt Morris-Rosenfeld was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Clovis and Minckler accepted back-to-back walks, forcing home two runs and trimming Puget Sound's lead to 14-9.
Following a Logger pitching change, Dan White was hit by a pitch and Michael Lazcano drew another base on balls to pull the Missionaries to within 14-11. With a 1-0 count on Whitman's next hitter, Micah Babbitt, Puget Sound made another pitching change, but the end results changed little when Babbitt was hit by another pitch, sending another Missionary runner across the plate.
Puget Sound had yet to record an out, and Knappe stepped to the plate as Whitman's 10th batter of the inning. The Logger infield jumped on Knappe's ground ball to shortstop Tim Steggall and nearly pulled off a 6-4-3 doubleplay. But with Knappe beating the throw to first base, another run scored and the Missionary deficit was down to 14-13 with runners at first and third.
Controversy erupted on the next play when Knappe was picked off first and momentarily caught in a rundown. Lazcano, the runner at third, broke for home but also found himself trapped in no-man's land when the Loggers threw to the plate. By the time the dust settled, both runners converged on third base, and both were called out on the play as confusion swirled at the hot corner.
With the inning apparently over, Puget Sound was ready to celebrate a 14-13 win. Not so fast. One member of the three-man umpire crew had called a balk at the start of the play, when Knappe was picked off first base. The play was dead from that point on, with Lazcano scoring the tying run and Knappe taking second base. It was one of seven balks called in Friday's two games, with six of those calls against Logger pitchers.
Puget Sound got the inning's second out on a strike-out, but Shackelford was intentionally walked and Morris-Rosenfeld worked the count for another walk to reload the bases. That set the stage for Clovis, who made the most of his second at-bat in the inning, lining a game-winning RBI-single into right field.
All in all, Whitman collected seven walks in the inning and had three batters hit by pitches. For the game, the Missionaries had a dozen hits, including three by Morris-Rosenfeld and two each by Babbitt, Shackelford and Drew Pearsall.
Steggall and Austin Kuehn had three hits apiece to pace Puget Sound's 13-hit attack. Steggall scored four runs while Kuehn knocked in four. Gregorio Beck also had two hits and two RBI for the Loggers.
Friday wasn't the first time this season that Whitman has scored a bunch of runs late in the game. The Missionaries struck for seven runs in the ninth inning last Sunday to beat Whitworth 9-5, and they rallied for a six-run ninth in a losing effort earlier in the season against Redlands. In late March, Whitman scored eight times in the eighth inning before falling 11-10 to NCAA DII Central Washington.
In Friday's first game, Puget Sound scored five times in the second inning and led 7-1 after four frames. The visitors tallied four more runs in the sixth to blow the game open. Steggall and Beck were two of six Loggers to smack two hits in the game. Chris Dunbar scored four times and drove home three runs. Tanner Moylett and AJ Jorg also had three RBI each. Michael Olsen pounded two doubles and a sacrifice play.
Evan Scandling turned in a strong performance on the mound for the Loggers, scattering seven hits over eight innings with nine strike-outs and just one base on balls. Garret Prokosch pitched a one-two-three ninth inning for Puget Sound to wrap up the win.
Marshall and Mike Rathwell both had two hits for the Missionaries in game one.
Hitting in the lead-off spot, Tim Steggall stroked three hits and drew a pair of walks to spark Puget Sound to a 9-5 Northwest Conference baseball victory over Whitman Saturday afternoon at Borleske Stadium.
With two victories in the three-game weekend series, Puget Sound improved to 11-7 in the NWC and 12-15-1 overall. The young Missionaries, who started six freshmen and sophomores in the field and a sophomore on the mound, dropped to 3-12 in conference and 5-21 on the season.
The Loggers jumped in front 6-0 after six innings of play. Whitman cut its deficit in half in the bottom of the seventh inning when freshman Michael Lazcano cranked a three-run home run -- his first collegiate roundripper -- over the left-field fence. Sophomores Matt Morris-Rosenfeld and Derek Clovis drew walks in front of Lazcano to set the table.
Puget Sound bounced back with two runs in the top of the eighth to lead 8-3. The Loggers loaded the bases when Joe Newland walked, Gregorio Beck singled to center and Chris Dunbar reached on an infield single. After a Missionary wild pitch plated one run, Pete Marcek and AJ Jorg drew walks to force home a second.
Whitman tallied its fourth run in the bottom of the eighth. Freshman Austin Shackelford singled, raced to third base on a Morris-Rosenfeld single and scored on a balk. Puget Sound stretched its lead to 9-4 with a single run in the top of the ninth. Beck got the RBI with a sacrifice fly to right field, after the Loggers loaded the sacks with two hit-batters sandwiched around Michael Olsen's single.
The Missionaries picked up a final run in their half of the ninth on back-to-back doubles by sophomore Adam Knappe and junior Luke Marshall.
Puget Sound starter Ryan Gustafson got the pitching victory. He blanked Whitman on two hits over the first six innings, striking out four and walking four. In addition to Steggall's three hits, the Loggers got two hits apiece from Olsen and Marcek.
Lazcano and freshman Micah Babbitt both rapped two hits for Whitman.
Whitman hits the road next weekend, playing a three-game series Saturday and Sunday at Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma, Wash. Puget Sound returns home to host Whitworth next weekend.
Pacific Lutheran solidified its hold on first place in the Northwest Conference with a doubleheader sweep of Whitman Saturday afternoon in Tacoma, Wash. The Lutes won the opener 4-2 and took the nightcap 11-4, improving to 26-6 on the season and 15-2 in the NWC. The Missionaries slipped to 5-23 and 3-14.
Game one was a battle all the way as senior starters Joe DiPietro (PLU) and Pat Johnston (Whitman) locked horns in a pitcher's duel. Whitman grabbed the early lead, scoring twice in the top of the fourth inning. After junior Luke Marshall was hit by a pitch and freshman Austin Shackelford beat out an infield single, sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Derek Clovis plated one run with a groundout to second, and freshman Michael Lazcano drove home the second run with a single to right field.
Pacific Lutheran countered with a run in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of two hit-batters and two Whitman errors. The Lutes then took the lead in the fifth frame, scoring twice after loading the bases with a single and two walks. A sacrifice fly tied the game and a Missionary infield error let in the go-ahead run.
The host squad added an insurance run in the seventh inning, getting another run-scoring sacrifice fly after two singles and a sacrifice bunt moved a runner to third base.
Whitman's Johnston turned in a strong effort on the mound, giving up just two earned runs on five singles and three walks while striking out two. PLU's DiPietro was even better, fanning eight, walking one and surrendering just two hits.
The Lutes parlayed a pair of big innings to claim its victory in game two. After Jared Simon's grand slam homer capped a five-run second inning, Pacific Lutheran pounded out six hits in the fifth to inflate its lead to 11-0.
Whitman scored all four of its runs in the seventh. After Morris-Rosenfeld and Clovis singled and freshman Brian Kitamura drew a base on balls to fill the sacks, Lazcano and freshman Micah Babbitt both walked to force home two runs. Junior Adam Knappe singled in a third run and Marshall's fielder's choice gave the Missionaries their fourth run.
The two teams will complete their weekend series with a third game starting at noon Sunday.
Pete Stadmeyer threw nine strong innings and Whitman outhit Pacific Lutheran 12-6, but the Lutes escaped with a 4-3 victory in 10 innings Sunday afternoon in Tacoma, Wash. The win gave Pacific Lutheran a sweep of the three-game weekend series, although one of their victories on Saturday was also by a single run.
Of Whitman's last nine losses, five have come by either one or two runs. The young Missionaries, with a total of 16 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, are 5-24 on the season, including a 3-15 mark in the Northwest Conference. The Lutes, now 27-6 on the season, head to the final two weeks of the season in first place in the NWC with a 16-2 record.
Stadmeyer, a sophomore left-hander, was nicked for three runs on three hits, including a two-run homer, in the bottom of the first inning. Over the next eight innings, however, Stadmeyer blanked the Lutes on just three hits.
After stranding two runners in both the fifth and innings, Whitman put two runs on the board in the seventh. With two outs, the Missionaries loaded the bases on singles by Jason Sease and Micah Babbitt and junior Adam Knappe's base on balls. Junior Luke Marshall's single to right-center field then cut Whitman's deficit to 3-2.
In the Whitman eighth, after sophomore Derek Clovis drew a walk, sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld bunted pinch-runner Brian Kitamura to second base. Junior Mike Rathwell's RBI double knotted the score at 3-3, and senior Drew Pearsall was hit by a pitch. With two outs, PLU third baseman Jared Simon saved at least one run when he made a diving stop of Babbitt's ground ball.
Whitman threatened again in the top of the ninth. Knappe led off with a single, took second base on Marshall's sacrifice bunt and moved to third on a ground-out. But after Kitamura was hit by a pitch, a fly ball ended the inning.
Pacific Lutheran got the game-winning run in the bottom of the tenth without benefit of a hit. With one runner aboard via a free pass and two outs, the Lutes loaded the bases with two more walks, one of them intentional. A hit-batter then forced home a run.
Knappe and Sease led Whitman's offense with three hits apiece. Marshall and Rathwell both had two hits.
With Brian Clark and Cameron Larson tossing complete game victories, the visiting Linfield Wildcats swept a pair of Northwest Conference games from Whitman Saturday afternoon, winning 10-3 and 11-5 at Borleske Stadium.
The Missionaries made things interesting in the nightcap, scoring four times in the bottom of the fifth inning to close to within 7-5 on the scoreboard. But Larson held Whitman scoreless the rest of the way and Linfield tacked on two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to nail down the win.
Linfield, now 18-14 on the season, remains in third place in the NWC with a 13-7 conference mark. Whitman dropped to 5-26 overall and 3-17 in league play. The two teams will play a third game at noon Sunday.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start in game two, scoring two runs in the top of the first. David Bachofner drilled a run-scoring triple to the right-center field gap and later scored on a ground-out.
Whitman countered with a run in the bottom of the first. Freshman Micah Babbitt was hit by a pitch, took second base on junior Adam Knappe's sacrifice bunt and scored on junior Luke Marshall's single to center.
After RBI-singles by Cory Ellis and Bachofner in the second inning made it 4-1 Linfield, the Wildcats added three more runs on just one hit in the top of the fifth. Three walks and a hit-batter contributed to the outburst.
Whitman clawed its way back into the game with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Freshmen Brian Kitamura and Micah Babbitt led off with singles and moved up a base on Knappe's sacrifice bunt. Both runners scored when Marshall beat out an infield single and took second base on a throwing error on Linfield's third baseman. Freshman Austin Shackelford singled to center, scoring Marshall, and advanced to third base when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. Shackelford then scored, trimming Whitman's deficit to 7-5, on sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld's ground-out to second base.
Linfield regained some breathing room with two runs in the seventh. Mitch Webb singled in one run and Bachofner plated the second with a sacrifice fly to center. Bachofner and Austin Highberger had three hits apiece to pace the Wildcat offense. Larson scattered 11 hits and struck out five in posting his seventh victory in nine pitching decisions.
Marshall had three hits and two RBI for Whitman. Eight other Missionaries had one hit each.
Linfield took charge of game one at the outset, scoring four runs on five singles in the first inning. Bachofner's two-run double in the fourth inning gave the Wildcats a 6-0 lead.
Whitman got its first run in the sixth. Marshall led off with a single, raced to third on Shackelford's double to right field, and scored when Morris-Rosenfeld grounded out to first base.
Both teams committed two errors in the seventh frame, each allowing the other side to score an unearned run. Marshall and freshman Michael Lazcano had hits to help push across the Missionary run.
Four Linfield hits coupled with two more Whitman errors produced three additional Wildcat runs in the ninth inning, giving the visitors a 10-2 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the Missionaries repeated the same run-scoring sequence they had used in the sixth -- Marshall singled, Shackelford doubled and Morris-Rosenfeld rolled a run-scoring ground ball to the right side. That was it for Whitman's offense, however, as Clark closed out his complete-game victory, raising his season record to 6-3 while striking out nine and giving up eight hits.
Marshall and Shackelford combined for six of Whitman's hits. Lazcano had the other two Missionary hits. Drew Van Cleave and Stew Davis ripped three hits apiece for Linfield. Rhett Fenton and Bachofner chipped in with two hits each for the Wildcats.
One of two teams in the Northwest Conference with a team batting average above .300, Linfield showed off its hitting prowess with a 19-hit attack and 13-3 victory over Whitman Sunday afternoon at Borleske Stadium.
David Bachofner and Stew Davis led the Wildcat hit parade with four hits apiece. Linfield improved to 19-14 on the season and 14-7 in the NWC. Whitman slipped to 5-27 overall and 3-18 in conference.
Spoiling Whitman's "senior day" and final home game of the season, Linfield scored three runs in the first inning and seven more over the next two innings to lead 10-1. Missionary seniors Pat Johnston, Drew Pearsall and Thomas Kost, along with their parents, were recognized in pre-game ceremonies.
Freshman Reese McCulley tossed the first six innings for Linfield, scattering four hits and fanning three, to pick up his first collegiate win. Johnston, who started on the mound for Whitman, was victimized by five errors that led to seven unearned Wildcat runs. Still, Johnston pitched into the ninth inning, holding Linfield to just three runs over the final six innings.
Freshman Jason Sease and sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld had two hits apiece for Whitman. Junior Adam Knappe collected two RBI for the Missionaries, one on a ground-out in the seventh inning and one on a run-scoring single in the ninth. Whitman tallied its first run in the second inning when Kost reached on a fielder's choice that allow Morris-Rosenfeld to score from third base.
Bachofner, who also drew a base on balls in six plate appearances, knocked in four Wildcats runs and scrored three more. Davis added two RBI for Linfield, which also got two hits apiece from Cory Ellis, Rhett Fenton and Don Bard.
Whitman completes its season next weekend with three games at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. Linfield hosts Whitworth in a three-game set next Saturday and Sunday.
Scoring three runs over the final three innings, Whitman turned back Pacific 5-3 to take the nightcap of a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Hillsboro (Ore.) Stadium. Pacific won the openerr 13-3.
Whitman, now 4-19 in the NWC and 6-28 overall, wraps up its season with a single game against Pacific at noon Sunday. The Boxers are 6-17 in conference and 13-26 on the season.
With Saturday's second game deadlocked at 2-2, Whitman punched across two runs in the top of the seventh inning. With two outs, consecutive singles by junior Luke Marshall, freshman Austin Shackelford and sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld produced one run. Shackelford then scored on a wild pitch.
Whitman made it 5-2 when back-to-back doubles by Marshall and Shackelford generated another run in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Pacific closed to within 5-3 with a base on balls and two-out, RBI-double. But Missionary freshman Sean Day, who tossed the final three and one-third innings, got the last out on a flyball to notch his second victory of the season. Day, who allowed just the one hit, took over for junior Sam Thompson, who made his first start of the season after several relief appearances. Thompson gave up four hits and struck out four in pitching into the sixth inning.
Pacific got the early jump in game two, scoring two runs on two hits and four walks in the first inning. Thompson kept the damage to a minimum, getting the final two outs on a strike-out and flyball to leave the bases loaded.
Whitman got a run back in the third. Sophomore Dan White singled and scored on freshman Micah Babbitt's double down the left-field line. The Missionaries evened the scored at 2-2 with another run in the fourth frame. Freshman Michael Lazcano drew a one-out walk, moved to third on senior Drew Pearsall's double and scored on White's sacrifice fly to center.
Pearsall rapped three hits to pace a 13-hit Whitman attack. Freshman Jason Sease added two hits, as did Marshall, Shackelford and White.
Pacific seized control of game one in the first inning, scoring seven runs on six hits, two walks and a hit-batter. The Boxers tacked on two more runs in the second inning to lead 9-0.
Whitman tallied its first run in the fourth. Shackelford was hit by a pitch and later scored on Morris-Rosenfeld's single to left-center field.
The Missionaries got a second run in the sixth. Marshall reached first on a Boxer fielding error, raced to third on Shackelford's double and scored on Morris-Rosenfeld's single.
Whitman plated its final run in the seventh, after loading the bases on singles by junior Mike Rathwell and sophomore Derek Clovis and Pearsall's base on balls. White knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly, but Babbitt then lined into a double play to end the threat.
Clovis and Morris-Rosenfeld both had two hits for Whitman.
After coming within two outs of ending its season with a regulation nine-inning victory, Whitman dropped a 5-4 11-inning decision to Pacific Sunday afternoon at Hillsboro (Ore.) Stadium.
With Whitman trying to close out a 4-3 victory, Pacific sent the game to extra innings with a run in the bottom of the ninth. After pinch hitter Frankie Guros led off with a four-pitch walk, pinch runner Andy Tolbert took second base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Jeff Johnston's single to left field.
Whitman, which left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth without scoring, put two more runners aboard in the 10th. With two outs, junior Luke Marshall singled and freshman Austin Shackelford walked, but Boxer reliever Kyle Barksdale got the third out on a flyball to center.
After Missionary freshman Sean Day, who picked up a victory in relief Saturday, retired Pacific in order in the bottom of the 10th, Whitman moved another runner into scoring position in the 11th. Freshman Brian Kitamura drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on senior Drew Pearsall's sacrifice bunt, but a flyball again ended Whitman's scoring opportunity.
Korey Yost was hit by a pitch to start the Pacific 11th. A sacrifice bunt, followed by an infield single, moved Yost around to third base with one out. Ryan Bailey pushed a squeeze bunt to the right side of the infield, but Day fielded the ball and threw home in time to get a sliding Yost -- but the ball popped loose from catcher Mike Rathwell, allowing the winning run to score.
Whitman took the early lead with a run in the top of the second. Shackelford led off with a single, moved around to third base on a ground-out and passed ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman Jason Sease.
Pacific responded with a run in its half of the inning, but Whitman jumped in front with a three-run third. After Rathwell singled and freshman Micah Babbitt was hit by a pitch, junior Adam Knappe's sacrifice bunt was thrown away, allowing a run to score and moving two runners into scoring position. Marshall followed with a two-run single to left-center field, staking the Missionaries to a 4-1 lead.
Pacific pulled to within 4-3 with two runs in the fifth. The Boxers nearly tied the game in the inning, but when Scott Yasumoto tried to score from second base on a single to left field, Missionary third baseman Shackelford took the throw from Marshall and threw to Rathwell at the plate in time for the out.
Sophomore Pete Stadmeyer started on the mound for Whitman, giving up seven hits while fanning five over the first seven innings. Senior Thomas Kost pitched an inning in relief before Day finished up.
Marshall, who had two hits to lead Whitman's offense, finished the season with a .316 batting average, tops among the Missionary regulars. Shackelford, one of six Missionaries with one hit, also walked twice in the game.
Playing the season with 16 freshmen and sophomores on its roster, Whitman finished with records of 4-20 in the NWC and 6-29 overall. Over the final month of the season, the Missionaries lost three conference games by a single run and a fourth contest by two runs. They also dropped two non-conference games in late March by one and two runs.
A year ago, Whitman struggled through a 3-35 season that included a 1-23 mark in NWC play.