PORTLAND, Ore. --- Cody Hawken hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull the Pilots within one of Saint Joseph's, but the Hawks escaped Joe Etzel Field with a 9-8 win as the potential tying run stood 90 feet away for Portland on a wet Sunday afternoon. The win allows the Hawks to avoid the four-game sweep as the Pilots won the first three contests of the series.
With a run already in and the Pilots (3-4) trailing 9-5 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Hawken stepped up to the plate and belted a clutch, three-run blast over the left field wall that cut the deficit to just one. His third homer of the season helped set up a thrilling final inning.
In the top of the ninth, the Hawks (1-3) tried to add some insurance as they got runners to second and third with only one out. Enter Portland freshman reliever Brad McVay, and in his collegiate debut the lefty came through, striking out both batters he faced to end the inning and the threat.
In the bottom of the final frame, Matt Kelly led off as the rain started falling the hardest it had all afternoon. Kelly reached after he was hit by a pitch, and Dutton Elske moved him over to second with a sacrifice bunt. SJU reliever Ryan Devine then collected a big strike out, before Beau Brundage earned a walk to keep the game alive, with Kelly ending up at third on a wild pitch.
The next batter was Ryan Kim, who had torched the Saint Joseph's pitching all weekend long. And the sophomore nearly did it again as he sent a fly ball down the left field line that appeared destined for the corner and would easily have scored Kelly and Brundage. But the ball was called foul as it sailed over the left fielder's head, and Kim would line out to left a few pitches later.
The Pilots also rallied early after they fell behind 4-1. Portland got one back in the bottom of the third when Kim drove in a run on a ground out to second, and Chris Arpan then leveled the score when he left the building with a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth. After Hawken had earned a walk, Arpan sent his first homer of the season over the wall in left that tied it 4-4.
The Hawks answered with three runs in the top of the fifth to re-claim the lead, and they added two more in the eighth to take a 9-4 edge.
Only four of the Hawks' nine runs were earned as the Pilots were hurt by four errors on the day.
Daniel Lopez opened the scoring for the Pilots with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning that gave the home team an early lead, and Jace McKinney claimed the RBI in the eighth with a single before Hawken's home run.
Portland starter Jordan Horak (0-2) takes the loss after surrendering six runs, only two earned, in 4.0 innings of work. He struck out three, walked two, and allowed seven hits. Jake Hawken, Connor White, Joey Morris, and McVay followed Horak out of the bullpen.
Hawks' reliever Brian Edington (1-0) takes the win after he replaced starter Cole Setzar to begin the bottom of the fifth inning. Edington was responsible for four runs on four hits in 4.0 innings, and he K'd five while not issuing a walk. Devine pitched the bottom of the ninth to earn his first save of the year.
Kim went a combined 10-for-16 during the series as the outfielder nearly hit for the cycle during the second game of Saturday's double header. He also produced three doubles, a triple, and two home runs, and he scored six while driving in eight RBI's.
Next up for the Pilots is a visit from CSU Bakersfield, who come to The Bluff for a four-game set beginning on Thursday night. First pitch for the opener at Joe Etzel Field is scheduled for 6 p.m.
