PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland's Beau Brundage came through with a go-ahead, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning and Nick Shur retired the Anteaters in order in the ninth as the Pilots earned a series split with UC Irvine with a thrilling 7-6 win on Sunday afternoon at a sunny Joe Etzel Field. Brundage went 3-for-4 on the day to cap a productive weekend, and Shur collects his second save of the series.
Entering the bottom of the eighth trailing 6-4, Daniel Lopez began the home half of the inning with a lead-off single. Cody Hawken followed with a double into the left-center cap, and Lopez scored all the way from first base to pull the Pilots within one. Things got interesting from there as Hawken would eventually be thrown out the plate trying to score the tying run from second on a Matt Kelly single, but the Pilots did well to extend the inning with hits, walks, and a hit by pitch.
Brundage then stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, and as he had all weekend long the sophomore produced the clutch hit, which was a line drive to center field that scored both Jace McKinney and Kelly. Collin Runge was thrown out at third on the play, but the damage had been done as the three-run inning allowed the Pilots to take a 7-6 lead to the ninth.
That's when Shur took over for Tate Budnick on the hill, and the senior sealed the win with a strike out and a pair of ground outs. Shur also saved Portland's win over UC Irvine on Saturday, which was the first game of a double header.
Brundage went 3-for-4 on Sunday with a walk, two RBI's, and two runs scored, and he was 6-for-19 (.563) overall during the four-game series.
Hawken finished with two hits during the finale, and he drove in three runs, which also included a two-run single in the first inning. That single allowed the Pilots to jump ahead 3-1.
The Anteaters (9-6) leveled the scored with two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Pilots (6-10) reclaimed the lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The run came after three walks and a sacrifice fly by Lopez.
UC Irvine again tied the score with a run in the seventh inning, and the Anteaters scored two in the top of the eighth to surge in front 6-4. During the eighth, one run scored on a sacrifice bunt, while the other came home on a sac fly.
Tate Budnick (1-1) takes the win after relieving starter Camden Muller to begin the seventh inning. Muller provided a quality start, scattered eight hits 6.0 innings. He allowed just three runs, and struck out three.
The Anteaters also used three pitchers on the day, with the loss going to Evan McMillin (0-1), who was charged with the two deciding runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Next up for the Pilots is a visit from the Seattle Redhawks, who are scheduled to travel to Joe Etzel Field for a non-conference game on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
