PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland scored five runs in the first inning en route to a 10-6 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in West Coast Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots evened the series with the victory and set up a rubber game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Pilots (8-33, 3-14 WCC) got to Gonzaga starter Hunter Wells early as senior shortstop Michael Lucarelli led off with a single. After a strikeout Portland loaded the bases with a walk to Turner Gill and single by first baseman Kevin Wade. Senior Cody Lenahan came through with a two-run double down the right field line. Cooper Hummel then walked to re-load the bases and Eric Sapp cleared the bases with a hard hit triple into the right field corner.
Gonzaga got one run back in the second as Taylor Jones led off with a double and later scored. Portland responded in the bottom of the inning as Gill singled and scored on a Wade double for a 6-1 lead.
The Bulldogs (19-18, 9-8) added a run in both the third and fifth innings and then threatened in the sixth by loading the bases against Yinger with one out. The Pilots brought in freshman right-hander Jake Hawken in relief. Hawken walked Mitchell Gonsolus to make it a 6-4 game, but then got Sam Brown to bounce into a double play to limit the damage.
Portland added a run in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff single by Sapp. He advanced to third a throwing error by Wells and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Lucarelli. The Pilots added three more insurance runs in the seventh. Dan Whitaker drilled a two-out, two-run double to left-center field and then Grant Taylor followed with an RBI double down the left field line.
Gonzaga's final surge came in the ninth with two runs, but Carl Snaring came on to get the final two outs and preserve the win.
Sapp finished the day 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI, while Wade was 3-for-5 with two runs and one batted in. Gill added two hits and a pair of runs scored.
Wells took the loss and drops to 1-3 on the season. He went 5.2 innings allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and struck out six.
Yinger improved to 2-6 with the win. He tossed 5.1 innings and scattered four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Hawken pitched 3-plus innings of solid relief before giving way to Snaring.
The series concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Joe Etzel Field.
