NEWBERG, Ore. – George Fox University scored 23 runs to sweep a non-conference baseball doubleheader from visiting Whitworth University on Sunday.  The Bruins won the first game 12-11 and took the nightcap 11-6.

The Pirates fell to 1-6 while the Bruins improved to 5-3. 

Whitworth will open its Northwest Conference schedule with a four-game series at Whitman College next weekend.

Game 1 – George Fox 12, Whitworth 11
The teams traded leads four times before George Fox scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.

After the Bruins took a 4-0 lead in the first, thanks to Emory Miller's three-run home run, Whitworth got two back in the top of the second on Joe Howell's RBI infield single and Jaxsen Sweum's RBI double.  GFU extended the lead back to 5-2 in the bottom of the second before Whitworth scored five in the top of the third.  Luke Bruno drilled a three-run home run and Gage Gibson followed with a solo shot to give the Bucs a 7-5 lead.

The Bruins scored three more in the bottom of the third, sparked by Miller's RBI double, to retake an 8-7 lead.

Gibson tied the game with his second home run in the top of the fifth and the Pirates jumped back in front on Brenden Duncan's RBI single in the sixth.  Ethan Schulte's RBI double in the seventh extended Whitworth's lead to 10-8.

The two-run lead was short-lived after Marc Audet smoked a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh for the Bruins.

Whitworth tied the game a final time 11-11 in the eighth on Aiden Morrison's sacrifice fly.  The Pirates had a chance to take the lead when Gibson followed with a single, but Duncan was thrown out at home plate trying to score from second base.

Shane White's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth was the game-winning RBI.

Duncan finished the game 4-6 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.  Gibson and Dawson Warner had three hits for Whitworth and Bruno led the team with three RBIs.

Josh Grimes started on the mound for the Bucs and allowed eight runs on six hits and three walks in two innings.  Landon Shigeta followed and gave up three runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings of work.  Joey Del Carlo (0-1) and Boe Hesse each threw two-thirds of an inning and Del Carlo was the pitcher of record.

Miller went 3-4 with four RBIs to lead George Fox at the plate.  Audet also drove in four runs.  Six different players pitched in the game for the Bruins.  Isaac Olson pitched the eighth for the win and Austin Hallman threw the ninth for his first save.

Game 2 – George Fox 11, Whitworth 6
Grayson O'Neil homered twice for the Pirates but the Bruins scored ten runs in the first two innings, including six in the bottom of the first, to run away early in the seven-inning nightcap.

Mason Arnold had a two-run double in the first and a three-run home run in the second to help stake George Fox to a big early lead.

O'Neil's first homer, a two-run shot, pulled Whitworth within 6-3 in the top of the second.  His second two-run shot in the fourth made it 10-5.  Ethan Rosario added an RBI single in the top of the seventh.

Morrison and Howell joined O'Neil with two hits for the Bucs.

Austin Rice (0-2) was Whitworth's starting pitcher and gave up 10 runs on nine hits in 1.2 innings.  Hunter Williams followed with 2.1 innings of shutout relief.  Campbell Magrane finished up the final two innings.

Arnold finished 3-4 with five RBIs while Cutter Kitson went 2-4 with three RBIs for the Bruins.  Andrew Sutherland (1-0) allowed five runs in four innings, but still got the win.  Chase Fetzer picked up a three-inning save.