Pilots triumph over Waves in 16 inning battle

By Ana Clyde | April 9, 2017 8:31pm
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by Kristen Garcia / The Beacon

After falling to the Pepperdine Waves in the first two games of the three-game series, the University of Portland baseball team won 2-1 Sunday afternoon on Joe Etzel Field in an extended game of 16 innings— the longest for the Pilots in nine years.

The Waves beat the Pilots 12-6 on Friday, and 14-8 on Saturday, dominating both defensively and offensively. But in the series finale, two runs in the final inning gave Portland the victory, moving them up 3-10 in conference play.

“It was a pitcher’s battle for the most part,” head coach Geoff Loomis said. “In those games you know every little thing counts. We knew one run was going to be crucial, one way or the other. But our guys are ready to go…(and) both of (our pitchers) were really outstanding today.”

Both teams went scoreless through 15 straight innings and a second seventh-inning stretch, until the Waves scored in the top of 16th. But fortunes turned for the Waves in the bottom of the inning, when pitcher Max Gamboa stepped in as Pepperdine’s fourth and final switch on the mound.

With sophomore Beau Brundage getting to first on an intentional walk, the bases were loaded when junior Cody Hawken came up to bat. A 4-1 ball count let Hawken walk to first and freshman Cal Webb to walk home as the Pilots leveled up the score.

And with bases still loaded when senior Devin Kopas stepped up to the plate, Pepperdine’s Gamboa cracked under the pressure of a full ball count, throwing away any chance for his team to win. Kopas walked to first and senior Matt Kelly scored for a Pilot victory.

“I’m proud of my team,” sophomore pitcher Kevin Baker said. “I’m very proud that we were able to pull it out, even when it was tiring...I’m proud that we battled adversity, and when we gave up that run in the last inning, we didn’t let that fold us over.”

Baker stood the first ten innings on the mound and gave up no walks, matching his career-high of 11 strikeouts— the same amount of strikeouts thrown by all four of Pepperdine’s pitchers combined.

Senior Marty Luckenbach and junior Tate Budnick both took a turn on the mound as well, with Luckenbach throwing two strikeouts and Budnick finishing the game as the winning pitcher.

The Pilots will next travel to Eugene to face the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday, April 11 at 6 p.m.

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