EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell baseball team returned to the friendly confines of Hamlin Sports Complex for the first time since February, and made the most of it, sweeping Oregon Tech in a Cascade Collegiate Conference double-header, 9-5 and 13-11. The Beacons collected 28 hits on the day including five home runs and seven Bushnell pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts in the wins.
 
GAME ONE: Bushnell 9, Oregon Tech 5
 
Bushnell jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opener, fueled by three solo home runs in the fourth inning against OIT starter Landon Cheney (2-3), who had allowed just two homers all season. Stevens led off the inning with a bomb while Jaden Thomson and Mason Millar soon followed with back-to-back jacks.
 
The lead was enough for Bushnell starter Kai Keamo (2-3), taking the win as he allowed three runs on six hits over five innings while striking out five. A strong bullpen outing included three combined scoreless innings from Chase Marshall and Jahshua Yacapin to close the game as they struck out three.
 
Stevens wasn't done after his solo home run, adding RBI doubles in both the seventh and eighth innings to allow Bushnell to pull away. He finished 3-for-5 with four RBI. Thomson, Nigel Fahland, and Caleb Richter all had two hits apiece for the Beacons.
 
GAME TWO: Bushnell 13, Oregon Tech 11
 
Danny Womack (pictured) had a huge day for the Beacons in game two, batting 3-for-5 with six RBI including a game-tying two-run single in the third and a grand slam as part of a seven-run fourth.
 
The Beacons needed every one of their 15 hits as the OIT bats did enough damage of their own. OIT took a 5-0 lead after a three-run top of the third, only to see the Beacons rally to tie the game in the bottom of the third.
 
OIT took another lead in the fourth, but Bushnell put the game away after taking a 12-7 lead in the fourth. The Owls would rally once again, scoring four in the fifth to climb within one.
 
Clinging to a slim lead, the Beacons rode the arm of Jacob Courtney to the victory. The junior had the best outing by a Bushnell reliever this season, giving up a single in four innings of work while striking out ten OIT batters to claim his first save of the season.
 
Tristan Mallari (2-0) earned the win for Bushnell despite giving up 3 earned runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief duty.
 
Albert Jennings had a big game at the plate for the home team as he went 4-for-5, scoring three runs and smashing his fifth home run of the season. Dylan Carson added three hits and Stevens went 2-for-4 to complete a five-hit day, and Josh Miyazawa added three RBI including a two-run double in the big fourth inning.  
 
UP NEXT: The Beacons (14-14, 6-9 CCC) will close out their four-game series with the Owls (12-16, 5-11) with two more games on Saturday, beginning at 11:00 am.