Whittier, Calif. – For the second consecutive Sunday, Lewis & Clark College baseball ended their weekend in the Golden State against Whittier College. This time the Pios earned a comeback 11-8 victory over the host Poets.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 11, Whittier 8
(Lewis & Clark 7-1)
(Whittier 0-6)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior
Noah Ferruggia entered the game Sunday afternoon with two runners in scoring position and the Pioneers facing a 6-3 deficit in the fifth. He finished the day with four scoreless innings, two strikeouts, and two hits to earn his second win of the season.
Sophomore
Brennen Davis knocked a three-run homer to left field in the seventh to pull within 7-6, and junior
Jakob Ghammachi homered to left center an inning later to give the Pioneers an 8-7 advantage.
The Pioneers struck first in Whittier during the second inning. After sophomore
Will Heron and senior
Dylan Moore hit back-to-back doubles, Ghammachi stepped to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Heron. That same inning, the Poets' bats came to life with two singles, a three-run home run to right center, and a triple to right field.
Moore belted a two-run shot over the left field fence in the fourth to cut the Poet lead to 5-3. The Whittier lead grew to four once more in the top of the fifth inning, and the Pioneers brought in reliever Ferruggia who did not allow a hit to the next six Poet batters, including posting a pair of strikeouts.
Lewis & Clark added three insurance runs in their final at-bat. Freshman
Brandon Gonzaga scored on a wild pitch, and Heron hit a single to center field that scored Davis and senior
Jack Thomson.
Davis relieved Ferruggia in the ninth and faced five batters. He gave up two hits, including a home run, and struck out one to earn his first save of the year.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Moore finished the game 3-5 with three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer), two runs and two RBI.
- Ghammachi and Davis each had three RBI, while Heron and Moore had 2 RBI a piece.
- After eight games, Davis leads the Pioneers hitting .472 with six home runs, 17 hits, 17 RBI and is tied for the team-lead with 17 runs scored.
- Ferruggia has a 2.35 ERA with nine hits allowed and four strikeouts in 7.2 innings.
- Whittier held their first lead against Lewis & Clark in 35 innings dating back to the 2018 season.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark opens Northwest Conference play with a doubleheader at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday; the first pitch is at 11 a.m.