PASCO, Wash.—Whitworth University scored nine runs in the first three frames, to earn an 11-2 win over Lewis & Clark College baseball on Wednesday afternoon at Columbia Basin College Field.
THE BASICS
Whitworth 11, Lewis & Clark 2
(Lewis & Clark 14-13, Northwest Conference 7-5)
(Whitworth 17-13, NWC 12-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore
Matt Stanislavsky and senior
Nate Kerr combined to allow one earned run over 5.2 innings to lead the River Otters.
Stanislavsky threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. He struck out three, walked two and did not allow a base hit. Kerr led Lewis & Clark with three innings pitched. The senior scattered two hits and allowed two runs (one earned). He matched Stanislavsky with three strikeouts.
Sophomore
Will Michelman recorded two of the team's five hits. He finished 2-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a pair of doubles. Juniors
Dylan Lee (one RBI) and
Michael Aikawa and senior
Joaquin Sandoval all added one hit.
Lewis & Clark grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. With one out in the first, Aikawa laced a single to center and moved to second on a groundout. Michelman put Lewis & Clark ahead with an RBI double to right-center. Lee extended the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single to center.
Whitworth grabbed a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the frame. The Pirates used three hits, a hit by pitch and a Lewis & Clark error to take the lead. With the score tied 2-2, Nate Gray Jr. singled to center field to score two runners.
The hosts tacked on four more runs in the second behind two hit by pitches, two walks, two wild pitches and one hit. Gray Jr. once again came through with the key hit, as he recorded a two-run single to center to make it 7-2.
Whitworth added one more run in the third before Stanislavsky and Kerr would combine to keep the Pirates in check for the next four innings. The hosts tacked on two final runs in the eighth on a groundout and sac fly.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Stanislavsky has allowed 1 earned run over 6.2 innings across his last three outings. The sophomore has posted three or more strikeouts in six-straight outings.
- Michelman posted multiple extra-base hits for the third time this season. He is tied for second on the team with 11 multiple-hit games this season (in 21 games).
- Wednesday's game was the third and final game in the NWC series between the two teams. Whitworth won the first two contests on March 15 at Columbia Basin College.
- Stanislavsky is averaging 13.5 strikeouts per game this season. He would rank 13th in NCAA DIII if he qualified for the national lead – to qualify a pitcher must have pitched at least one inning for every team game. Stanislavsky has thrown 26 innings through the team's first 27 games.
- At the midway point of the NWC season, Lewis & Clark (7-5) sits in third place and is 1.5 games ahead of fifth-place Pacific Lutheran University (7-8). The top four teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the NWC Tournament.
- Sandoval made his first start and recorded his first hit since February 28.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will look to extend their six-game, home winning streak against conference foes this weekend. The River Otters will host George Fox University for a three-game series beginning on Saturday at Noon.