EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell baseball team had to settle for a split on Friday as they opened up a four-game weekend set with Eastern Oregon University. An incredible pitching performance led to a 2-1 victory in the opener, while the Bushnell arm struggled in a 16-3 loss in the night cap.   
 
GAME ONE: Bushnell 2, Eastern Oregon 1
 
Senior Kai Keamo (4-3) and sophomore Jacob Courtney (pictured) have quickly established themselves as the perfect table setters for the Beacons as the duo combined to allow zero earned runs for the second straight week. This time the pair collected 11 strikeouts with EOU claiming just an unearned run in the sixth inning.
 
Keamo struck out seven batters in six innings of work while Courtney claimed his third save of the season, striking out four over the final three innings.
 
Nate Stevens got Bushnell on the scoreboard in the third inning with a solo home run, his tenth of the season. Eli Pupo made it 2-0 with an RBI double in the fifth. Eastern got on the board for their only run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single for Carson Gerding.
 
Albert Jennings and Chase Nye had two hits apiece for the Beacons. Jennings would go on to finish his day with four hits including a pair of doubles.
 
Easton Corey (2-5) took the loss as he went seven innings for the Mounties, striking out three batters.  
 
GAME TWO: Eastern Oregon 16, Bushnell 3 (8 Innings)
 
Tristan Mallari was a bright spot in a sea of tough pitching outings for the Beacons in the night cap, throwing a solid 3.1 innings of relief work including four strikeouts. It was an otherwise forgettable afternoon for the Bushnell staff as EOU collected 16 runs on 14 hits. They did all of their damage with three runs in the first, four in the third, followed by a nine-run eighth inning to seal the run-rule victory.
 
Griffin Sanchez (1-3) took the loss for the Beacons as he allowed four earned runs in 3.2 innings of work. He struck out three batters and was plagued by three unearned runs in the third inning.
 
Jennings was the only batter with multiple hits for Bushnell. Davis Grawey added a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the eighth and the Beacons picked up their other two runs during a pickoff in the fourth inning and a ground out in the eighth.
 
David Soto and Alex Olague had three hits apiece for EOU as Olague collected four RBI including three on a home run in the eighth.

The win went to starting pitcher Jace Schow (1-5), his first of the year as he struck out a season-high eight batters over five innings. Jake Lenberger threw the final three innings, striking out five as he was credited with a save.

One bright spot for the Beacons came in the second inning when Danny Womack claimed his 15th stolen base of the season, breaking Bushnell's single-season record, set by Will Hudler last season. 
 
UP NEXT: The Beacons (19-17, 11-12 CCC) will finish off the series with Eastern Oregon University (10-24, 7-15) on Saturday, beginning at 11:00 am.