The Logger baseball team battled hard, but they ultimately came up short, losing both parts of a doubleheader against rival Linfield on Sunday, April 1. The Loggers were scuffling heading into their matchup, having lost 10 of their previous 11 games, and they knew they faced a tough challenge when they played host to Linfield. Linfield entered the game ranked 15th in the nation with a record of 14-7—not exactly ideal for the Loggers, who were trying to snap a long skid.
In the first game, the Loggers sent junior starter Matt Robinson (Lafayette, Calif.) to the mound to face a daunting lineup for Linfield. Robinson began the game shakily, allowing two hits and a walk that threatened to break the game open in the very first inning. Robinson pitched out of a bases-loaded jam, getting a harmless groundout to end the inning. Robinson had no such luck in the next inning however, as Nathan Fisher of Linfield hit a one-out homer to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Following an RBI single later in the inning, the Loggers found themselves in a 2-0 hole early in the game.
The Loggers responded in the third inning, however, as a small ball allowed them to get their first run of the game. Freshman Jake Boley (Gig Harbor, Wash.) singled to lead-off the inning and stole second. He eventually capitalized on an error at first base, which allowed Boley to score, cutting the Linfield lead to 2-1.
From there, Robinson settled into the flow of the game, allowing only three more hits the rest of the way. Robinson pitched eight innings, allowing four runs (three earned) while striking out six Wildcats. Unfortunately, the Loggers’ offense could do little against Linfield’s pitching, which held the Loggers to one hit after the third inning. As such, the team let a solid outing by Robinson go to waste, losing the first game to Linfield 4-1.
The second game began with more of the same, as an RBI double off of Loggers’ junior starter Nate Aguiar (Los Gatos, Calif.) put Linfield up 1-0 in the top of the second inning. However, the Loggers responded this time around, as freshman Kaulana Smith (Kapolei, Hawaii) hit a single, which allowed sophomore Lucas Stone (Ashland, Ore.) to go home, tying up the game in the bottom of the second.
The Loggers broke the tie in the next inning when freshman Connor Savage (Bothell, Wash.) scored on an error. Leading 2-1 after three innings, the Loggers turned to their pitching to preserve the narrow advantage.
Unfortunately, Aguiar hit a wall in the fifth inning, where five consecutive Linfield singles allowed three runs to score and knocked Aguiar out of the game.
Senior Taylor Volz (Portland, Ore.) came in and restored order in the fifth inning, but he ran into more trouble in the sixth, where a lead-off double opened the floodgates, bringing in four runs. Suddenly faced with a 8-2 deficit, the Loggers only managed one run for the rest of the game—a RBI groundout by Boley in the ninth inning well after the game had been essentially decided. Overall, the Loggers managed six hits in the game, led by Stone who went 2-4 with a run scored.
The doubleheader loss dropped the Loggers to 4-21 on the season.
The Loggers unfortunately continued their downhill spiral with a loss against Linfield 14-0. They look to improve their fortunes in the next week beginning Friday, April 6.
PHOTO COURTESY/DAVID PENDLETON
