PORTLAND (Interstat) — Gage Bruce homered and drove in two runs as Portland defeated Pacific 9-5 on Saturday evening at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots improved to 27-25, while the Tigers fell to 23-27-1.

Pacific scored five runs in the opening two innings, but Portland answered with two in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by JT Landwehr and a bases-loaded walk from Cody Nitowitz. Grant MacArthur’s two-run home run in the third extended the Pacific lead, and single runs in the fifth and sixth made it 5-2.

Portland rallied in the sixth as Landon Kauffman’s infield single cut the deficit to 5-3. The Pilots seized control in the seventh, scoring four runs. Landwehr was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Joseph Fagan added an RBI single and Nolan Miller delivered a two-run single to make it 7-5. Bruce’s two-run homer in the eighth stretched the lead to 9-5.

Garret Plata (6.0 IP, 0 hits, 3 earned runs, 5 strikeouts) started for Pacific. William Labonte (5.0 IP, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 strikeout) earned the win. Morgan Codron (4.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 strikeouts) also pitched for Portland.