BALTIMORE, Md. – The Pomona-Pitzer baseball team earned a 6-3 win over Mary Washington in the opening game of its NCAA Regional at Johns Hopkins on Friday afternoon.
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens improve to 32-12 overall and advance to the next round with a chance to play in the regional final with a win on Saturday.
The Sagehens were led by Kai Gonzaga, who went 2-for-4 with a big solo shot in the bottom of the eighth to help secure the win for Pomona-Pitzer. Tanner DeGrazia went 1-for-3 with three RBI, while Peter Savas, Cooper Berry, Landon Hu, Will Parker and Sammy Lee each added a hit.
Max Brunngraber earned the win after throwing 6.2 innings and surrendering three runs while striking out five to improve to 10-1 on the year. With the victory, Brunngraber moves into a four-way tie with fellow Sagehen Hannoh Seo, Hall of Famer David Colvin and Spike Einsiedler for the program's single-season wins record with 10. Eli Della Bitta came on in relief and was absolute nails, escaping a jam with one pitch in the seventh before throwing scoreless eighth and ninth innings to earn the save.
The Sagehens played from in front after Lee singled home Parker in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead. Mary Washington answered with a run in the third to tie the game before adding two more in the fifth to take a 3-1 advantage. DeGrazia then brought home a run to cut the deficit to 3-2 after five innings.
Pomona-Pitzer took over in the sixth after a bases-loaded walk by Savas tied the game at 3-3. DeGrazia then delivered the biggest hit of the game with a single through the right side of the infield to score Gonzaga and Lee and give the Sagehens a 5-3 lead.
Gonzaga provided insurance in the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot to right-center for his 13th home run of the season, making it 6-3 and helping send the Sagehens into the winners' bracket for Saturday's matchup.
Up Next: The Sagehens will face host Johns Hopkins on Saturday, May 15, at 2:30 p.m. The winner advances to the regional final, while the loser will play again Saturday night for a chance to advance to Sunday.
