SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Jeff Fripp lined an eighth inning RBI double to break a 4-4 tie, lifting Bushnell University to a 6-4 victory over Oregon Tech in Game 1 of a 3-game series at Drifters Stadium.
 
The Hustlin' Owls (12-8) tied the score in the top of the eighth on a Brodie Marino sacrifice fly, but the host Beacons were able to scratch across a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to earn the win.
 
Tech took a 3-0 lead in the second – stringing together four hits around a sacrifice bunt. Singles from Marino and Bryce Petrilla and a bunt from Riley Cronin set the table for the Owls. Sean Tobin delivered a run off a bunt base hit, followed by a Korrey Siracusa single and a Tyler Horner sacrifice fly, to build the early lead.
 
RBI doubles from Cayden Delozier and Dylan Carson pulled the Beacons (10-5) within 3-2, with a 2-run sixth inning homer from Cade Crist giving BU the lead.
 
OIT drew even in the eighth as Horner walked and Julien Jones moved him to third with a double – the Owls lone hit after the second inning. Marino lined a ball to right, with Carson making a diving catch to take away extra bases – but Horner scored to tie the game.
 
BU took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame, as Jordan Wilson doubled and Delozier walked. Fripp laced an RBI double into the left field corner to break the deadlock, with the Beacons adding an insurance run off a Jacob Stoner ground out.
 
Jones went 2-for-4 in the loss for OIT, with Lalo Barraza allowing three earned runs in five-plus innings of work. The BU pen was stellar, as Kai Keamo and Daniel Furman combined to allow one hit and one run, striking out six, in four innings of work.
 
The series concludes tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.