FOREST GROVE, Ore. – The #2 Lewis & Clark College baseball team held on for a 6-5 win over #4 Whitman College in the loser bracket semi-final game of the Northwest Conference Tournament to advance to the championship game behind senior pitcher
Kris Wuelfing's 5.2 innings pitched and career-high seven strikeouts.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 6, Whitman 5
(Lewis & Clark 0-0, 0-0 NWC)
(Opponent 0-0, 0-0 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pioneer seniors
Jack Savant and
Jack Thomson hit back-to-back balls to the shortstop in the first inning; Savant reached base on a single and Thomson on a fielder's choice when the Blues threw out Savant. Thomson successfully stole second with three-hole hitter
Brennen Davis at the plate. The sophomore then drove the third baseman across the plate with a double to left field. Two batters later, sophomore
Will Heron singled to center field and drove in Davis from third to put the Pios up 2-0.
Up 2-1 in the fourth and the bases loaded, freshman
Brandon Gonzaga hit a pitch back to the mound and reached on a fielder's choice as the Blues saved a run with the force out at home. Savant then hit a ball to the shortstop and reached on an error while Ghammachi ran across home plate.
With two outs in the fifth and runners on first and second, Ghammachi hit a double to left field and scored both runners to extend the lead to 5-2.
Wuelfing recorded his new career-high seventh strikeout for the second out of the sixth inning. Whitman then hit three consecutive singles to load the bases. Junior
Tyler Shimabukuro entered the game, and the Blues' Beck Maguire hit the ball to Thomson, but the throw to first was dropped while Brock Williams scored an unearned run. Shimabukuro struck out the next batter to limit the damage and hold a 5-3 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Shimabukuro hit Joaquin Hines with the bases loaded, and the Blues pulled within 5-4. Junior
Anthony Clerici entered the game and threw one pitch to record the final out with a fly-out to center fielder Davis.
Ghammachi recorded his eighth home run of the season with two outs, a solo shot over the scoreboard in left-center field to extend the lead to 6-4.
Davis replaced Clerici in the ninth with one out and the bases loaded. Davis was able to limit the Blues to a run before recording the final two out of the game and sending the Pioneers to the NWC Championship game for the first time in program history.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Ghammachi went 2-3 in the game with a home run, double, two runs scored, and 3 RBI.
- Thomson was intentionally walked in the sixth, giving him his 44th walk of the season and tying the season record for walks.
- Davis and Heron scored a run and recorded an RBI; Davis scored 3-4 while Heron scored 2-4.
- The Pioneers' 28 wins this season are the most since 1992 and tied for the second-most wins in program history; their .700 winning percentage is the third-best percentage in program history.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will play Pacific for the second time in as many days in the championship game at noon on Sunday. The Pioneers need to win two games to earn the NWC title for the first time in history and earn the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Regionals.
