PORTLAND, Ore.—Willamette University jumped out to 6-3 leads in both games and staved off a pair of eighth-inning rallies from Lewis & Clark College baseball to earn a sweep of the Pioneers on the Opening Day of Northwest Conference play. 

THE BASICS
Willamette 6, Lewis & Clark 3
Willamette 6, Lewis & Clark 5
(Lewis & Clark 4-5-1, NWC 0-2) 
(Willamette 6-0, NWC 2-0) 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Saturday's doubleheader was played in frigid temperatures at Jerry Gatto Field with occasional rain, sleet and even hail falling throughout the afternoon. 
 
Despite strong pitching and defense all afternoon, the Pioneers found themselves on the losing end of both contests because they couldn't come up with timely hitting. The Pioneers racked up 14 hits on the day but managed just three doubles and four hits with runners in scoring position. 
 
GAME ONE RECAP 
 
Willamette ace Layton Wagner allowed three unearned runs over eight innings and added a pair of doubles to lead the visitors to a 6-3 game one victory. 
 
Junior Jakob Ghammachi was the lone Pioneer with multiple hits. Ghammachi went 2-4 in the contest. Senior Luke Bass added an RBI single and a walk and senior Justin Bailey and freshman Michael Aikawa each added doubles.
 
On the mound, senior Brett Pierson posted his third-straight quality start. Pierson allowed nine hits, one walk and three earned runs over six innings. He also struck out six batters. 
 
Sophomore Ryan Harvey came on and pitched 1.2 innings, with two hits, one walk and three earned runs allowed and one strikeout. Senior Tyler Shimabukuro struck out one over the final 1.1 innings. 
 
Willamette opened the scoring in the fourth inning when Clint Walker hit a solo home run to left-center field - one pitch after he hooked a fly ball just foul past the left-field foul pole. 
 
Lewis & Clark took the lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks to some small ball and Bearcats miscues. Bret Potter and Aikawa each reached on infield errors and Joaquin Sandoval loaded the bases when he beat out a bunt down the third-base line. Bailey made it 1-1 when he hit a fly ball to shallow left field and the left fielder made a diving stop. Potter easily tagged up on the play to tie the game. The Pioneers took the lead thanks to the Wildcats third miscue of the inning. Jack Savant hit a hard grounder to first but the first baseman threw the ball away trying to start a double play and Aikawa came across to score. 
 
Willamette immediately responded. Wagner opened the inning with a line-drive double and scored on a Luke Piazza single. Carter Stoltz added a sac fly with one out to give Willamette a 3-2 edge. 
 
The Bearcats added on an insurance run in the seventh when Wagner hit a two-out double off the fence in right field to score Carl Lawson. 
 
The visitors added two more runs with two outs in the eighth. After the first two batters were retired, the next two Bearcats reached on a walk and hit by pitch and Drew Baskin drove in both runners with a double down the right-field line. 
 
Lewis & Clark attempted to come all the way back in the bottom of the inning. Gonzaga opened the frame with a single and moved up to second on another Bearcats error to put two runners on with one down. Bass hit a deep fly ball to right field that hit off the chain link fence to score Gonzaga. The right fielder made a strong deke as if he was going to catch the ball and it allowed the Bearcats to erase the second runner at third base for a huge second out. Will Heron followed with a single that could have brought the game-tying batter to the plate. Instead, Wagner ended his outing by inducing a ground out to second to get out of the jam. 
 
The Pioneers had multiple opportunities to have big innings in the contest but couldn't avoid the double-play ball. Lewis & Clark hit into inning-ending double plays in the first, fifth and seventh innings. 
 
GAME TWO RECAP 
 
Willamette scored five-straight runs between the third and fifth innings and held off a strong eighth-inning rally to secure the sweep on Saturday. 
 
Potter led Lewis & Clark offensively by going 2-4 with a run scored, two RBI and a double. Heron tacked on two hits in three at-bats, a run scored and a walk. Savant and Aikawa each tacked on an RBI. 
 
Junior Luke Ritter got the start and went 4.1 innings. He was charged with six earned runs and struck out two. 
 
Sophomore Nate Kerr came on in the midst of the jam in the fifth and went 3.2 innings, allowing three hits, one walk and no runs. Kerr struck out three in the longest outing of his career. Freshman Felix Gibeault struck out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth inning. 
 
Willamette took the lead in the top of the first on a Baskin solo home run. 
 
Lewis & Clark grabbed the lead in the second inning. Heron started off the frame with a single. On the next play, Heron evaded a tag by the second baseman and Potter beat the throw to first to put two men on with no outs. After a lengthy meeting, both runners moved up 90 feet as the throw to first was judged to have gone out of play. With two runners in scoring position, Aikawa drove in Heron with an RBI ground out to short. After a strikeout, Bailey worked a walk to put runners at the corners with two down. Bailey took off for second and was ruled to be safe, allowing Potter to score on the back end of a double steal. Savant made it 3-2 Pioneers with a soft fly ball down the left-field line that plated Bailey. 
 
Willamette responded with two runs in the third. After back-to-back singles, Baskin doubled to right center and Lawson followed with an RBI groundout to make it 3-3. 
 
The visitors made it 6-3 in the fifth. Stoltz opened the inning with a home run and each of the next three batters recorded extra-base hits to make it 6-3 with a runner on second. After Ritter recorded a ground out to second for the first out of the inning, Kerr came on in relief. He stranded the runner at third base with back-to-back strikeouts. 
 
Lewis & Clark nearly got all the way back into the game in the eighth. Gonzaga opened the inning with a single and Ghammachi walked to put two on. With one out, Heron loaded the bases with a walk to force a pitching change. Potter greeted the reliever with a cue-shot double down the right-field line that scored Gonzaga and Ghammachi. With the go-ahead run at second base, JD Willis struck out two of the next three batters to get out of the jam. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Kerr's previous longest collegiate appearance was two innings in each of his first two outings this season. His 3.2 innings pitched is the longest relief outing by a Pioneer this season. 
• Potter posted his third multi-hit game of the season in game two. He has notched multiple hits in three of his first seven career starts. 
• Lewis & Clark made just one error in 18 innings on Saturday. Willamette finished the doubleheader with five miscues. 
• Willamette earned their first doubleheader sweep over the Pioneers in Portland since March 1, 2020 (13-3 and 7-3). 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark and Willamette will finish off the three-game set on Sunday at Noon, when the two teams play a single conference contest.