LEWISTON, Idaho – The Warriors got off to a slow start in the twin bill with Oregon Tech on Sunday and split with the Owls. 24^th-ranked LC State Baseball had quality starts in both games, but could not get off the ground offensively in game one and fell 4-1. The bats came alive in the afternoon matchup and the Warriors earned an 8-3 victory for a 10-2 record on the season.
 
"It was nice to rebound from our slow start in game one and get a win in game two," Head Coach Jake Taylor said. "Alec (Holmes) gave us a great start today (in the second game) and we were able to stack a few of the middle innings together to extend our lead. We will learn from the past four games and we look forward to getting back to practice tomorrow."
 
GAME ONE: Oregon Tech def. LC State 4-1
Eric Chavarria struck out two in the first and was helped by Zach Threlfall cutting down a runner trying to take second. OIT got on the board in the top of the second with a two-out blast off the bat of Zack Stockton.
 
The Warrior bats were silent through the first four innings with their lone hit coming via a single up the middle by Dillon Plew.
 
Chavarria settled in over the new few innings with two punchouts in the third, and a pickoff and two more strikeouts in the fourth. He was lifted for Lucas Gregory in the top of the sixth after striking out seven.
 
A sacrifice fly by Mitchel Swanson made it a 2-0 game. Eli Shubert took over and struck out a batter to get LC out of the inning. He fanned two more in the seventh.
 
OIT added on in the top of the eighth, but LC State responded in the home half of the inning. Jack Johnson put the Warriors on the board and cut the deficit to 3-1 with a solo shot to left.
 
Two errors cost the Warriors in the top of the ninth and resulted in another Oregon Tech run. LC State fell 4-1.
 
Chavarria put together a quality start, going five innings with seven strikeouts. He allowed two earned runs and walked one. Shubert was strong in relief, striking out five in 2.1 innings. Brooks Juhasz struck out two in his lone inning and did not give up an earned run.
 
The Warriors managed just four hits in the contest with knocks from Plew, Johnson, Luke White and Sam Linscott.
 
GAME TWO: LC State def. Oregon Tech 8-3
Holmes gave the Warriors a great start and recorded a strikeout in each of the first four innings.
 
The Warriors manufactured a run in the third to take the lead. Riley Way led off the inning with a single to right and took second on bad pickoff attempt. A groundout moved him to third and an RBI-groundout by Aidan Nagle put LC up 1-0.
 
White and Dalton Harum notched back-to-back singles to start the LC offense in the bottom of the fourth. A throwing error by the OIT catcher brought White home, and a two-out single by Way plated Harum. Plew made it a 4-0 game with an RBI-single to shallow left.
 
Holmes continued his strong outing be striking out the side in order in the fifth. He struck out one more before ending his day with two outs in the sixth. Cole Susee struck out one after a run came in on a wild pitch.
 
LC State put doubled its run output in the bottom of the sixth, all on two outs. Way got things going with an infield single and stole second and both Plew and Johnson walked. Nagle cleared the bases with a double off the wall in left-center and scored on a two-bagger by Matt James off the batter's eye. The Warriors led 8-1 after six innings.
 
OIT cut the Warrior lead to 8-2 with a home run on Jacob Bogacz's first pitch. He settled in to tally a strikeout and two groundouts. Joe Ball allowed one run in the ninth before striking out the side.
 
Holmes had his second strong outing of the season with eight strikeouts through 5.2 innings. He walked two, gave up two hits and allowed one earned run. Warrior pitching combined for 14 strikeouts in the game, with two from Susee, one from Bogacz and three from Ball.
 
LC State was led offensively by Nalge and Way. Each had three hits, and Nagle knocked in four runs. Way scored three times and had two stolen bases.
 
The LC Warriors host the Corban Warriors next weekend in a pair of doubleheaders beginning on Saturday. Game one is slated to start at noon. Both games will be streamed on the Warrior Sports Network and carried on KOZE.
 
Stay up to date on all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.