KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Lewis-Clark State clinched the NAIA West conference title Monday, then suffered a rare defeat in the finale of a five-game series against Oregon Tech.  The Warriors (33-9, 23-5 league) defeated the Owls 10-0 behind the pitching of Rian Bassett, and a barrage of home runs before losing 12-10.  LC now has a five-game lead over second-place British Columbia, with just four league games remaining.
 
In the opener, Bassett (5-1) threw his first career complete game, the second complete game in two days for the Warriors.  He struck out four Owls, walked three and allowed five hits, recording the fifth shutout by Warrior pitchers this season.
 
Offensively for LC, six Warriors hit home runs to account for all but two runs. The home run diary read:  Thomas Lampkin Jr., his fourth, solo shot second inning; Kasey Bailey (7) two-run shot third inning;  Kyle Callahan (8) two-run, Darren Trainor (2) solo, Riley Way (1) solo in fifth inning; and Raymond Pedrina (6) solo shot in ninth inning.
 
In between home runs, Bailey added a sac fly in the fifth inning, and A.J. Davis had an RBI single in the sixth inning.
 
Pedrina went 3-5, and Bailey had three RBI to lead the Warriors.
 
In the second game, LC appeared to be on its way to extending their season winning streak to six, until the final pitch.
 
Tyler McDowell, earlier named the NAIA West player of the week, punched in the first Warrior run with a first-inning RBI double. LC stretched the lead to 2-0 in the second on Pedrina's triple. 
 
Oregon Tech's Micah Jio hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning, his first of two homers, and OIT added a solo run in the third to go ahead 4-2.
 
LC then pushed across four runs in the fourth inning.  Bailey doubled in Davis, and Cory Voss joined the home run derby with a two-run dinger, his team-leading tenth, to give the Warriors a 5-4 lead.  Lampkin Jr. made it 6-4 later in the inning with a single up the middle.
 
Trainor and Way cushioned the lead in the sixth with sacrifice flies to give the Warriors an 8-4 edge. But Jio closed the gap for the Owls in their half of the inning with a two-run blast, making it 8-6, then OIT made it 8-7 on a seventh-inning groundout.
 
LC scratched out a single run in the eighth when Way squeezed home a run, and then recorded their final run in the ninth via McDowell's RBI double, and entered the bottom of the ninth with a 10-7 lead. 
 
But, the Owls pushed across five runs in the bottom of the ninth, including a walk-off grand slam by Ryan Riepman off of Warrior reliever Gage Burland, to halt the Warriors 34-game winning streak against OIT dating back to 2012. 
 
Trainor went 4-4, and Voss 3-5 for the Warriors who outhit the Owls 14-12.
 
LC used three pitchers in the game.  Efrain Del Rio allowed three runs in his first start of the year.  He went two innings before being relieved by Kade Woods, who allowed three hits and three runs in four innings. Burland (0-2) pitched the final three innings, recording seven strikeouts before the final blow.
 
The Warriors continue their road trip with at single game at Western Oregon Wednesday at 2 PM.