Pirates Claim Pitchers' Duel in Opener
ATHERTON, Calif. - Ben George pitched five strong innings and Jake Hanley and Landon Scott were strong in relief to lead visiting Whitworth to a 2-1 win at Menlo in the opener of a non-conference baseball doubleheader on Saturday. The Oaks won the nightcap 7-1. George improved to 2-1 this season by allowing one run on four hits in five innings of work. He struck out two and walked two. Hanley then pitched three innings of scoreless relief, allowing only two hits. Scott picked up his first save of the season after allowing the first two batters to reach base. George allowed only a solo home run to Shane Parsons in the first. Whitwoth tied the game in the third when Greg Hata led off with his first home run of the season. Scott and Kyle Krustangel had back to back doubles in the fourth and Krustangel's RBI ended up as the game winner. Whitworth tied the nightcap 1-1 on Hata's RBI single that scored Dan Belet. But Menlo pulled away with four runs in the bottom of the inning, then added two more in the fifth for the final margin of 7-1. The Oaks scored their runs on only five hits as an error and two wild pitches led to a pair of runs in the fourth. Another error in the bottom of the fifth added another unearned run. Liam Zenger-O'Brien started and absorbed the loss for the Bucs. Whitworth will complete the three-game set with a single on Sunday, starting at noon. |
