PNW college baseball action on Friday featured Portland’s thrilling 10-inning walk-off victory over LMU, highlighted by freshman Trey Swygart’s game-winning homer. The region saw exceptional pitching performances from Portland’s Curtis Hebert (11K, 1H) and Gonzaga’s Finbar O’Brien (9K, 3H), while power hitters like UBC’s Trent Lenihan and Oregon’s Mason Neville drove their teams to convincing wins across all levels of competition.
Top Hitters
Kaden Kirshenbaum (MSUB) 3-3, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB
Mitchell Middlemiss (UBC) 3-4, HR, 4 RBI, R, BB
Aaron Marsh (UBC) 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB
Trent Lenihan (UBC) 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
Josh Hankins (Gonzaga) 2-2, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB
Wyatt McClory (Linfield) 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Mason Neville (Oregon) 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB
Albert Jennings (Bushnell) 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB
Dominic Hellman (Oregon) 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R
Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) 3-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
Top Pitchers
Curtis Hebert (Portland) 8 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 11 K
Finbar O’Brien (Gonzaga) W, 8 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 9 K
Jackson Betancourt (MSU Billings) W, CG, 9 IP, 8 H, ER, BB, 9 K
Will Anderson (UBC) W, 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Grayson Grinsell (Oregon) W, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 5 K
Ryan Beitel (UBC) W, 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Isaac Yeager (UW) SV, 3 IP, H, ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Max Banks (UW) W, 6 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
Friday’s Scores and Recaps
D1
Game of the Day: Portland 1, LMU 0 (10) The Portland Pilots edged Loyola Marymount 1-0 in a thrilling 10-inning battle Friday at Joe Etzel Field when freshman Trey Swygart blasted a walk-off home run to left center. Portland’s pitchers dominated throughout, with starter Curtis Hebert striking out a career-high 11 batters while allowing just one hit over eight scoreless innings before Kaden Segel earned the win with two shutout frames. Swygart, who finished with three hits, delivered the decisive blow to keep the Pilots perfect in WCC play at 4-0. See highlights HERE on YouTube.
The Huskies defeated Rutgers 3-1 on Friday behind a stellar pitching performance in their Big Ten series opener. Washington’s Max Banks tossed 6.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to earn the win and lower his ERA to 3.76, while Isaac Yeager struck out six batters over the final three frames to record his first save. The Huskies jumped ahead early with two runs in the first inning via a balk and wild pitch, later adding an insurance run on Colton Bower’s sacrifice fly. Blake Wilson collected two of Washington’s six hits as the team improved to 12-15 overall and 5-2 in conference play, winning their third straight Big Ten series opener.
No. 10 Oregon dominated Ohio State 7-0 Friday night as Grayson Grinsell led a four-hit shutout while the Ducks’ offense launched four home runs. Grinsell (4-1) was exceptional through seven innings, scattering just three hits and working out of early trouble. Oregon struck quickly with Dominic Hellman’s first-inning RBI double before Anson Aroz and Maddox Molony hit back-to-back homers in the fourth. Hellman and Mason Neville added late home runs to seal the victory as the Ducks improved to 20-5 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten play, leaving the Buckeyes winless in conference action at 0-7.
Gonzaga continued its hot streak Friday, downing Pacific 8-1 at Patterson Baseball Complex in their homecoming after a 12-game road trip. Sophomore Finbar O’Brien delivered a career performance with eight innings of three-hit ball, striking out a career-high nine batters. The Bulldogs’ offense erupted with runs in four consecutive innings, highlighted by back-to-back homers from Josh Hankins and Hudson Shupe in the fifth. Shupe led with three hits while Hankins went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Jacob Wrubleski added a two-run double as Gonzaga won its eighth game in nine outings to move to 3-1 in WCC play, tying them atop the conference standings.
Other D1 Finals: Nebraska 7, Oregon State 3; Grand Canyon 10, Seattle U 0; Nevada 10, Washington State (8)
GNAC
Montana State Billings swept Central Washington on Friday, winning 5-1 and 6-4. Scoreless after six innings in game one, MSUB overcame a 1-0 deficit with a three-run eighth inning sparked by Kaden Bertram’s two-RBI single. The Yellowjackets added two insurance runs in the ninth while Betancourt finished a complete game masterpiece, striking out nine and working out of a ninth-inning jam to secure the victory. Central Washington’s Daniel Charron pitched admirably, going seven and one-third innings while allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. The Wildcats’ lone run came on Max Bledy’s RBI double in the seventh that drove in Andrew Sharp, briefly giving CWU the lead before MSUB’s offensive surge. In game two, CWU jumped out front early after a Brandham Ponce RBI single. MSUB responded with three second-inning runs. After the Wildcats tied the game twice, the Yellowjackets delivered in the clutch with Kirshenbaum’s RBI double and Jeffrey’s run-scoring single in the final inning. Mullins closed out his third win of the season by retiring three straight batters to complete the doubleheader sweep. Central’s Jonathan Garza II went the distance, pitching all seven innings while allowing six runs on 10 hits and striking out four. The Wildcats’ offense was led by Brandham Ponce, who collected three hits including a double and drove in a run. Andre Garza, Ben Leid, and Marcus Manzardo also recorded RBIs for CWU.
D3
Linfield held off Occidental 9-7 at Anderson Field to improve to 11-8 on the season. The Wildcats struck early with Elijah Maris’s first-inning homer and Wyatt McClory added two home runs while driving in three. Camden Oram (2-0) pitched seven effective innings before Colton Ouellette secured his third save despite late pressure. Nick Holm went 3-for-5 with an RBI, Rylan Gullard collected three hits, and Tyler Marr contributed a key two-run double in the seventh. Occidental, who fell to 8-14, received three hits and two RBIs from Thomas Munch, while Nicholas Gonzalez and Logan Rooney both homered in the losing effort.
For CCC Recaps, click HERE
