Willamette’s Ace Tames Whitworth Cohen Overcomes Wind, Slow Start, In Key Ncic Game

Abe Cohen has pitched better, but perhaps never as courageously as he did Sunday afternoon.

Willamette’s senior ace, working without his best stuff and with a blustery wind blowing hard toward left field, survived a couple of early scrapes and Tim Bishop’s mammoth two-run, seventh-inning homer to pitch the Bearcats past Whitworth 12-7 in a crucial Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges baseball showdown at Merkel Field.

Cohen, a three-time all-NCIC pick, was tagged for 10 hits and five runs - all earned - in the eight innings he worked. But after giving up six hits and three runs in the first three innings, he settled down and allowed only three other runners past second base while raising his record to 6-3.

“He’s awfully steady,” Whitman coach Rod Taylor said of Cohen, a 6-foot-4, 200-pounder, who struck out four and did not walk a batter. “He always seems to keep them in the ballgame. He’ll give up a big hit now and then, but never two or three big hits in a row.”

The win gave Willamette (22-10 overall, 13-5 in the NCIC) a 2-1 edge in the three-game weekend series and pushed the Bearcats a half-game ahead of the Pirates (13-18, 11-4) in the standings.

Whitworth continues to lead the NCIC in winning percentage, however, and could regain the top spot Wednesday by sweeping a 1 p.m. home doubleheader against last-place Whitman.

“It’s going to be close,” Willamette coach David Wong said of the title chase. “There’s a lot of teams still in it, and if (the Pirates) take care of business against Whitman this week, they’ll be right back in the lead.”

Taylor was disappointed in Sunday’s loss, but still likes his team’s chances. “The nice thing is, we still control our own destiny,” he said.

The Pirates close their home schedule against Whitman before capping conference play with a three-game road series against Lewis & Clark this weekend and another at Linfield on May 10-11.

The key to Whitworth’s stretch run, according to Taylor, will be pitching depth.

“We just have to make sure we don’t get too deep into our bullpen in those two games against Whitman,” he said.

Taylor used three pitchers against Willamette, but none was able to cool the hot-hitting Bearcats, who torched starter Jason Tracy (3-3) for seven runs in less than five innings.

Ryan Flynn stroked a three-run homer off Tracy in the first and added a solo shot in Willamette’s five-run eighth. Bryan Hall also homered for the Bearcats, and leadoff batter Jason Kelly stroked a double and two singles and drove in two runs.

But it was left-fielder Burke Eathome’s defensive play on Jay Wendt’s slicing third-inning liner that did more to support Cohen’s pitching than anything the Bearcats did with the bats.

Whitworth had scored twice and had the bases loaded when Wendt slapped a low pitch toward left center. The ball seemed headed to the fence, but Eathome, after getting a great jump, laid out parallel to the ground and made a highlight-reel catch that retired the side and preserved Willamette’s 6-3 lead.

“That was a huge play, probably the game,” said Taylor. “And it showed why they’re such a good team. They made plays like that when they had to, and we didn’t.”

Willamette 12, Whitworth 7

Wlmtte 321 010 050 - 12 15 3

Whitwrth 012 000 202 - 7 13 3

Cohen, Hunter (9) and Kelly; Tracy, Rider (5), Ayers (8) and Schuerman. W-Cohen (6-3). L-Tracy (3-3).

HITS: Willamette-Kelly 3, Cox, Flynn 3, Hall, Earthorne, Gregg 2, Hazlebaker 2, Edelbrock 2. Whitworth-Arthaud, Francek 3, Bishop 3, Fischer 2, Ripke, Wendt, Brown 2. 2B-Kelly, Gregg, Wendt. HR-Flynn 2 (8), Hall (6), Brown (3), Bishop (9), Francek (3).

, DataTimes