NACOGDOCHES, Texas --- After the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks held off the Pilots to win game one 8-7, Portland starter Chris Clements went the distance in the second game as the visitors recovered for a 7-1 victory on Saturday afternoon at Jaycees Field. The split gives each team two wins during the four-game series.
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Clements (3-0) was masterful, yielding just four hits, while striking out six. Offensively both Hunter Montgomery and Daniel Lopez homered, giving Clements all the run support he would need.
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The Pilots (8-4) scored three in the top of the first as Portland scored at least one run in the first inning during all four games against SFA (5-7). Chad Stevens led off the game with a double and would eventually score on an error. Jace McKinney then scored on a wild pitch, and Matt Kelly came home with the third run of the frame on a ground out.
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Tracye Tammaro began the second inning with a double, Gabe Skoro followed with a single, and Stevens made it a 3-0 game with a sac fly. Montgomery's homer, his fourth of the year, came with the bases empty in the top of the third as the Pilots had a five-run cushion.
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The 'Jacks scored their lone run in the bottom of the fourth, and the Pilots got it back when when Travis Turney was plunked with the bases loaded in the seventh. Lopez then claimed Portland's final run when he left the yard with a solo home run, his second this season, in the top of the ninth.
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The Pilots out-hit the Lumberjacks 10-4, and Tammaro collected a team-high three hits. SFA used four pitchers, with the loss going to starter Joseph Sgambelluri (0-3).
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Portland led game one 2-0 after two innings, courtesy passed ball that scored McKinney in the first and a sacrifice fly by Stevens in the second.
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SFA surged ahead with a four-run third inning, with Jared Martin providing a three-run double.
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The Pilots got one back in the fourth and another in the seventh inning to tie the score 4-4. Kelly scored the run in the fourth on a passed ball, and Stevens scored in the seventh, courtesy an error.
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Portland briefly took the lead when Blake Porter and Matt Kelly hit back-to-back doubles in the eighth, but the 'Jacks responded with a four-run home half of the inning.
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Down 8-5 entering the ninth inning, the Pilots tried to rally, and after Porter sent a clutch two-out, two-run single to left field, Portland had cut the deficit to just one run. But the 'Jacks then induced a game-ending flyout to seal the win.
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Reliever Cole Wilkinson (0-1) was responsible for all four SFA runs in the eighth inning. Previously, reliever Jacob Biesterfeld worked a scoreless 3.0 innings, allowing just one hit. He struck out a pair, and he replaced Portland starter Kevin Baker.
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Stephen F. Austin sent five pitchers to the mound in game one, and the win goes to reliever Jaxon Covington (1-0). Jeremy Rodriguez recorded the final out to earn his second save.
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The Pilots next return home to host the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday at Joe Etzel Field, with first pitch is set for 5 p.m.
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