SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – The upstart Warner Pacific University baseball team cranked out a season-high 18 runs on 17 hits Friday, handing Bushnell consecutive losses for the first time this season with a 18-9 Cascade Collegiate Conference victory in the opening game of a four-game series.
 
The second half of the double-header was postponed due to rain and will be made up on Sunday at 11:00 am at Hamlin Sports Complex.  
 
The Knights seemed to have an answer at every turn, scoring eight runs in the third inning and another eight in the seventh to blow the game wide open. and finding a way to tag six different Bushnell pitchers. Warner Pacific is now averaging over 14 runs per game in the last five outings.
 
Austin Wolfe (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season, going 2.2 innings and allowing five earned runs on eight hits. Wolfe was pulled after being drilled in the back by a comebacker, the second time he had been hit by a batted ball in the game.
 
For the Knights, Ayden Yaeger (2-3) got the win, giving up four earned runs on four hits over the first five innings of the game. Kaden Hindman closed out the final four innings, fiving up four earned runs on six hits, but earning the save.
 
The Warner Pacific lineup was strong top-to-bottom with six different players producing multiple hits. Connor Hale led the way, hitting 4-for-6 with two doubles, three RBI and three runs scored. Alex Nisbet added a 2-for-6 game with four RBI and Jarrod Seibel hit his third homer of the season as part of the eight-run seventh.
 
The Beacon bats had another strong game with ten hits, led by a 3-for-5 day from Albert Jennings who hit his fourth home run of the season.
 
Jordan Wilson also did his part, hitting a pair of home runs and collecting five RBI as he moved into the Cascade Conference lead with his ninth and tenth dingers of the season. Wilson also moved his career home run total to 34, placing himself sixth on the Cascade Conference list and just five away from tying the Cascade Conference record of 39 which has stood for 26 years.
 
UP NEXT: Bushnell (20-5, 10-4 CCC) and Warner Pacific (7-12, 6-8) will be back in action at 11:00 am on Saturday for a double-header, playing games two and three of the series.