PNW College Baseball Scoreboard – March 6
D1
Oregon beats Grand Canyon 13-5 – A home run barrage in the early innings turned into an offensive onslaught for Oregon as the Ducks pounded out 21 hits in a 13-5 win over Grand Canyon University on Tuesday.
The game featured five home runs over the first four frames alone as the lead changed hands multiple times. Justin Cassella’s solo shot in the top of the first put Oregon up 1-0 before Grand Canyon responded with Zach Yorke’s two-run blast in the bottom half. The Ducks tied the game on Ryan Cooney’s solo homer in the second, but Grand Canyon struck back on Tyler Wilson’s two-run shot in the third to go up 4-2. Oregon’s Jacob Walsh then launched a two-run bomb in the fourth to knot the score at 4-4.
From there, Oregon’s bats took complete control. Cassella, who had a monster day with four hits and four RBIs, added a sacrifice fly in the fifth as the Ducks grabbed a 6-4 advantage. A five-run sixth inning officially blew the game open. Mason Neville crushed a two-run homer and run-scoring hits from Cassella and catcher Chase Meggers were the highlights as Oregon would extend the lead to 11-4.
On the mound, Ian Umlandt (1-0) earned the win with four shutout innings of relief. Cole Stokes tossed two solid frames as well out of the Oregon bullpen.
The offensive barrage backed up another stellar outing for Mark Wasikowski’s 9-3 Ducks, who stay in Arizona to begin a series at Arizona State on Friday night.
Portland 7, Omaha 5 – The Portland Pilots baseball team rode a huge 5-run second inning, highlighted by Jake Holcroft’s grand slam, to defeat the Omaha Mavericks 7-5 on the road. Trailing 3-0 after the first, the Pilots erupted for 5 runs in the second, taking advantage of sloppy Omaha defense. Holcroft’s no-doubt blast to center cleared the bases and put Portland ahead for good.
Morgan Codron was stellar in relief, allowing no runs over 4 innings while racking up 6 strikeouts to earn the win. The sophomore right-hander pounded the strike zone and kept the Mavericks off-balance all afternoon. Carter Gaston also impressed, striking out 2 in a scoreless 9th to record the save.
Offensively, Portland was led by Holcroft’s 4 RBIs and 3-hit day. Zach Toglia added an RBI double as part of the big second inning outburst. The Pilots took advantage of 3 Omaha errors and constantly applied pressure on the basepaths.
After an off day tomorrow, the Pilots continue play in the city of Omaha on Friday with a three-game series against Creighton.
NWAC
G1: Columbia Basin 14, Grays Harbor 4 (8)
G2: Columbia Basin 1, Grays Harbor 7 (7)
