TACOMA, Wash. -
Game 1 - Despite a red-hot start and a solid day at the plate, Clark College came up short in a hard-fought 11–7 loss to Tacoma on Wednesday afternoon.
The Penguins came out swinging, plating four runs in the top of the first inning. Andrew Israel kicked things off with a single and later scored, while RBI hits from Jase Pashales, Evan McGuire, and Rylan Taguchi gave Clark early momentum and a 4–0 lead.
However, Tacoma responded immediately, capitalizing on some early walks and errors to pull even by the second inning. A two-run homer in the first and an RBI double in the second helped Tacoma erase Clark's early advantage.
Clark briefly regained the lead in the fourth when Kaiden Hernandez delivered a clutch RBI single, scoring Rylan Taguchi to make it 5–4. But a pair of errors and a sacrifice fly in the bottom half allowed Tacoma to jump ahead again, 6–5.
Despite late-inning rallies — including a 7th-inning double from Quentin Anguay and another RBI single from Evan McGuire — Clark couldn't close the gap. Tacoma then launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the 7th to put the game out of reach.
Clark's offense was led by Kaiden Hernandez (2-for-3, RBI, 2 BB), Evan McGuire (2-for-5, 2 RBIs), and Andrew Israel (2-for-4, 1 run). In total, the Penguins tallied 11 hits and drew six walks, showing strong plate discipline throughout.
On the mound, Clark used six pitchers, with Luke Woolcott (0–1) taking the loss after a tough opening inning. Despite the score, the bullpen had solid stretches, particularly Terrance Cheyne, who tossed 1.1 scoreless innings to close things out.
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Game 2 - The Clark College Penguins showed flashes of promise on Wednesday but couldn't overcome a tough third inning from Tacoma, falling 6–2 in NWAC West Region play.
Clark opened the scoring in the fourth when Kaiden Hernandez drove in Kobin Mullins with a groundout to second. An inning later, Andrew Israel delivered an RBI single to plate Evan McGuire, pulling the Penguins within a run at 3–2. That would be the closest they'd come, as Tacoma responded with three unanswered runs to close out the game.
Kobin Mullins led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while Andrew Israel, Evan McGuire, and Quentin Anguay each added hits. Kaiden Hernandez also tallied his second RBI of the season.
On the mound, Kenneth Hall turned in two strong innings to open the game, holding Tacoma scoreless with just one hit. The third inning proved costly, however, as Travis Gibson allowed three runs without recording an out—two of which came via a balk and a sacrifice fly. Tacoma capitalized on that momentum shift and never looked back.
Clark's bullpen got scoreless innings from Terrance Cheyne and Dawson Loudenburg, while Alex Matter and Evan McGuire also took turns containing Tacoma's offense.
Despite the loss, Clark's pitching staff limited Tacoma to just five hits and matched them in strikeouts (4). However, Tacoma made their opportunities count, manufacturing runs on the basepaths with five stolen bases and aggressive situational hitting.
With the loss, the Penguins will look to regroup and carry their offensive sparks into the next matchup against Greys Harbor on Saturday at home.
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