SPOKANE, Wash. – Noah Meffert doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead visiting George Fox to a 5-3 win over Whitworth in the finale of a Northwest Conference baseball series on Sunday afternoon at Merkel Field.

The Bruins improved to 15-13 overall and 8-7 in the NWC after taking two of three games in Spokane.  The Pirates (5-21, 4-11), who ended an eight-game losing skid in the series opener, head to league-leading Pacific Lutheran next weekend.

Neither team scored until the third inning, when a walk and a hit put two George Fox runners on. After a double steal, Jeremy Sangalang was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Brandon King was hit by a pitch for the first run.  Meffert reached base on a fielder's choice in the next at bat, and Jared Miller scored when the Pirates could not complete the double play.

It was Meffert again in the fifth inning with an RBI double that scored King and Sangalang to stake GFU to a 4-0 lead. Meffert had three of the team's four RBI.

The Pirates got on the board in the sixth inning when JJ Fahnlander doubled down the right field line to score Gage Gibson from first.

The Bruins responded in the top of the seventh inning when Meffert scored on a throwing error to tally their last run of the game.

Whitworth rallied in the eighth when Jaxsen Sweum hit a two-run home run, leaving the score 5-3.  It was Sweum's third home run of the series.

Ben Willis (3-3) got the pitching win for George Fox in a dominant showing, throwing only 89 pitches in eight innings of work. He allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks.  Andrew Sutherland tossed a perfect ninth inning for his second save.

Josh Grimes (0-5) took the loss for Whitworth.  He allowed two runs on only one hit, but walked two batters and hit three others. Austin Rice pitched four innings of relief, giving up six hits and three runs, but recording four strikeouts. Dylan Owen pitched the last two innings of the game, giving up only one hit.