PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Lewis & Clark Pioneers couldn't hold on to the lead in the final game of their series against the Willamette Bearcats at Huston Sports Complex Sunday afternoon, losing 13-7. The Pios gained a one run advantage in the bottom of the third when they scored three runs off of hits from Justin Bailey, Zack Kon and Sammy Benbow, but were immediately answered by the Bearcats in the top of the fourth who brought two home. 

The Pioneers (3-9, 1-4 NWC) remained scoreless for two innings until a homer from Sam Helms brought them back to a three-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth. Willamette's four-run rally in the seventh went unanswered by the Pios until Benbow smashed a ball over the left side fence later in the eighth. It wasn't enough to lift the Pios to another win.

"Frustrating end to the weekend." Said head coach Matt Kosderka, "When you have a chance to win a series, especially on your home field, especially when you have a lead, you need to take advantage and we didn't. In the end, we weren't competitive enough on the mound and gave away too many at-bats. Willamette capitalized on our mistakes and was the better team today. We'll regroup this week and continue to work toward playing up to our capabilities on a more consistent basis."

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Key Moments

The Pioneers held the Bearcats (6-6, 3-2NWC) to a 1-2-3 inning at the top of the sixth thanks to two strikeouts from Breydan Nomura and a fly ball from Willamette's Joey Faudskar that found the glove of Benbow in right field. Leading off the batting order for the inning, Benbow then himself hit a fly ball for the Pios' first out. Helms was the lone scorer of the inning for both teams after slugging a ball out over the left side, logging the second home run of his career. 

The Pios saw their second homer of the game in the eighth when Benbow smashed one over the right side fence. 

"Benbow has had a really solid weekend at the plate." Said Kosderka, "He's worked hard to become a better hitter and it is great to see him start to see the rewards of that work."

Justin Katona led the batting order, reaching second on an error by Bearcats' third baseman Layton Wagner. He also made it home on Benbow's hit for the Pios' final two runs of the game. After finding themselves with bases loaded and two outs, Kon grounded out to end the rally.

Game 1

Starting from a 10-0 deficit, the Lewis & Clark Pioneers resumed play for game two of their three-game series against Willamette on Sunday morning, ultimately conceding 13-3 to the Bearcats.

Before play was halted at the bottom of the sixth on Saturday, the Bearcats had established an early lead after a seven-run rally in the second. The Pioneers struggled to create offensive momentum to get on the board, remaining scoreless up until the rescheduling of the game. 

Willamette put another three runs on the board at the start of play Sunday morning to put the Pioneers down 13-0 heading into the eighth. The Pioneers were able to respond in the bottom of the inning with three runs before both teams went scoreless in the ninth.

Cristian Panaro started on the mound for the Pios on Saturday, earning his first loss. He allowed five hits and five runs while striking out two. He faced 11 batters. Brian Tatman had the top performance on the mound, earning four strikeouts while allowing one hit and no runs. He walked two.

Key Moments

Willamette scored three runs in the top of the seventh and shut the Pios down quickly in three at-bats. The Pioneers had a better offensive inning in the eighth, forcing the Bearcats to leave two on-base before bringing three players home. Michael Contreras started the run with a double to left field and was followed by Joey Oda and Jack Thomson on base when they drew back-to-back walks. Zack Kon was hit by a pitch to send Contreras home, followed by a single from Cole Petters that advanced both Oda and Thomson across the plate.

Issac Blake started on the mound for the Pios and saw one inning of play. He allowed three hits and three runs on three errors. He earned one strikeout. Sean Vanderaa closed the game out for the Pioneers, allowing three hits and no runs while walking two and striking out three.

Deeper Look

• Benbow led the team with three RBI's in the game while Helms had two
• Bailey had two stolen bases while Michael Contreras earned one
• Andrew Yarak earned the loss, putting him at 2-2 in the season
• Yarak faced off against 23 batters, earning three strikeouts while allowing seven hits and eight runs
• The Pios left 12 on base to the Bearcats' nine in game two

Looking Ahead

They head to Newberg to take on George Fox on March 7 and 8, playing at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and at 12 p.m. on Sunday.