PORTLAND, Ore.- The Portland Pilots and Loyola Marymount Lions split a doubleheader Saturday at Pilot Stadium to conclude a three-game West Coast Conference series. The Pilots won the early game 8-5 behind a strong performance from freshman right-hander Sean Sargent, who went 8.1 innings and struck out seven batters. The Lions salvaged a road win in the late game by a 12-2 margin as sophomore Jeff Stevens struck out nine Pilots in seven innings of work. Portland (6-26, 3-9 WCC) took two-of-three from the WCC Coast Division-leading Lions (20-15-1, 11-4 WCC), after beating the Lions 3-2 on Thursday.
The first game much resembled Thursday’s contest as the Pilot bats provided early run support and Portland had to fend off a late LMU charge to hold on. Sargent (2-4) pitched a gem, scattering 11 hits and one walk while ringing up a career-high seven Lions. The Langley, B.C. native gave up just two runs through the first eight innings, but was spotted for three more in the ninth after fatigue set in as his pitch count reached 141. Sophomore reliever Stephen Ball came on with one down and runners on second and third and two runs already scored for LMU in the ninth. Ball battled Joe Frazee and Jonathan Higashi both to full counts, before forcing each hitter into groundouts to second baseman Gustaf Little. Ball earned his first save of the season with the effort. Stephen Kahn, the reigning WCC Pitcher of the Week, fell to 4-2 after allowing six runs on 13 hits in 5.1 innings.
The Pilots scored three runs with a two-out rally in the first inning, started by a double down the left field line from Travis Vetters off the glove of outstretched third baseman Kyle Mura. Jeffrey Crinklaw followed with a double to the right center gap and Joe Watson traded spots with Crinklaw with a shot down the left field line for the third consecutive double. Freshman Colton Homme then singled home Watson for a 3-0 lead.
LMU got one back in the second after Anthony Santana’s sacrifice fly scored Higashi, who reached on a double of his own. Portland brought the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the frame as Vetters again reached base with two outs, this time on an error. Crinklaw and Watson hit consecutive singles, the latter scoring Vetters. Portland scored their fifth two-out run of the game in the fifth inning as Billy Krause sliced a double to deep right center, scoring Homme who got on board with a single.
Crinklaw’s stellar day at the plate continued with an RBI-single in the sixth inning, scoring Nik Kosach. After another Lions run in the eighth, the Pilots got two much-needed insurance runs on a Vetters’ run-scoring single and Crinklaw’s RBI-groundout, making it 8-2 before the LMU attack in the ninth.
Eight Pilots recorded hits in the game, with Vetters and Crinklaw tallying three each. Crinklaw also drove in three runs, while Watson brought home two. Chris Pettit, Clint McGill and Joe Frazee each had a pair of hits for the Lions. Portland had 15 hits to LMU’s 11, and both teams committed one error.
The late game was all LMU, as the Lions racked up 12 runs on 17 hits. LMU played small ball to perfection, advancing runners with hit-and-runs and placing grounders through the holes in the shifting Pilot infield. Portland senior Kyle Corra (0-3) was the losing pitcher of record after going four innings and giving up six runs on seven hits. LMU starter Jeff Stevens had a shutout through five innings and finished seven frames with nine strikeouts while giving up just two runs (one earned).
The Lions led 4-0 after two innings and put the game out of reach with a four-run fifth, highlighted by Kyle Mura’s leadoff homer to center field, his fourth of the campaign. The Pilots scored a run in the sixth and seventh innings on Watson’s RBI-groundout and Little’s single up the middle, but Portland never threatened seriously.
LMU added four more runs in the eighth on five hits to make it a 12-2 final. McGill was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Brady Koch and A.J. LaMonda both had three hits and drove in two runs. Crinklaw and Little each went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Pilots.
Portland’s highlight came when reliever Brian Cox induced a triple play off the the bat of Billy Lockin in the top of the ninth inning with runners on first and second. Lockin roped a grounder to Vetters at third who stepped on the bag and threw to Little covering second, LaMonda was called for runner interfence after being forced at second, making it a three out sequence.
Portland returns to Pilot Stadium on Wed., Apr. 15 at 3:00 p.m. to take on George Fox in a make-up of a rained out contest in February. The Pilots get back to conference play on the road at Gonzaga on Apr. 16-18, for a three-game set.
