KEIZER, Ore. – After being swept in a double header for the first time this season on Friday, the Bushnell baseball team bounced back in a big way on Saturday with two strong victories over Corban University to split the weekend series.
The Beacons (29-9, 19-6) tied their school wins record, matching the 29 wins they earned last season when they finished 29-26. Bushnell also climbed back up to match CCC-leading University of British Columbia in the win column as the Thunderbirds were knocked off twice by the College of Idaho on Saturday. UBC sits at 19-5 in the conference with one to play on Sunday while Lewis-Clark State also continues to hang around at 18-5, with two to play on Sunday.
The Warriors fall to 9-27 overall and 5-20 in conference.
GAME ONE: Bushnell 7, Corban 4
An early call time on Saturday didn't effect the Beacons as their bats proved plenty caffeinated in the top of the first inning, setting the tone with four runs.
Jordan Wilson got the ball rolling with a sacrifice fly and
Will Hudler followed with a two-run single. The fourth run came home on a wild pitch.
The Beacons added a run in the third to go up 5-0 when
CJ Smith (pictured) singled to bring home
Caleb Richter. Another run was added on a passed ball in the fifth and
Nate Stevens singled in an insurance run in the fifth.
Max Chapman (5-0) had good start for the Beacons, leaving with a 6-4 lead after five innings.
Ethan Sachs got his fourth save of the season, closing out the final four inning and allowing just one hit while striking out three.
Bushnell collected eight hits in the game with two apiece from Stevens,
Ethan Stacy and
Chase Nye.
GAME TWO: Bushnell 2, Corban 0
Kai Keamo and Dylan Ho combined to scatter five hits as the Beacons shutout the Warriors, extending the Beacon single-season record with the fifth clean sheet and the second over Corban this year.
Keamo (2-1) went six strong, allowing four hits and striking out four while Ha closed out the final three innings with four more strikeouts and just one hit to claim his first save of the season.
The pitchers duel went scoreless until the seventh inning when the Beacons were able to tag starter Chris Shaffer (2-5) for both of their runs.
Jameson Hussey earned the winning RBI with a one-out single and his pinch runner
Jacob Wood scored a few batters later on a double from Nye.
Schaffer struck out seven batters in his start, and allowed seven Bushnell hits, including two more from Nye who finished the day batting 4-for-6.
"It was not our standard of baseball this weekend," said head coach
Jamie Womack. I am proud of the guys for bouncing back today from our roughest day of the year yesterday. We have a lot of work to do this week, but there are several things to build off of as well. Kai and Dylan were fantastic in game two and Sachs was dynamic out of the pen in game one. We have a big weekend upcoming as we prepare to head to Canada for a massively important series.
UP NEXT: First-place in the conference will be on the line in Vancouver next Saturday and Sunday as the Beacons travel to take on the University of British Columbia. The Thunderbirds are 19-6 all-time against the Beacons and Bushnell will be looking for their first-ever wins above the border.
