MESA, Ariz. – It took 11 innings, but the No. 24 Lewis-Clark State Baseball team got the job done against No. 19 Benedictine Mesa. Jack Johnson was the hero in the game, sending a shot into the gap for a triple to bring in the go-ahead runs in the 6-4 victory in Arizona.
 
"Offensively we did just enough to win tonight," Head Coach Jake Taylor said. "We have a lot of room for improvement."
 
Tallon Thomason threw the final four innings to earn his second win of the season. He struck out five and allowed one unearned run in his second quality outing. Paired with Jesse Parker, the Warrior bullpen was solid.
 
"Jesse and Tallon were exceptional out of the pen," Taylor said. "They allowed us the opportunity to come up with a couple clutch hits late in the game."
 
The Warriors struck first with a run in the top of the first. Two hit-by-pitches put runners on for Brock Ephan, and the senior singled up the middle to plate the first run of the game. A strikeout by Greg Blackman got LC State out of a jam in the home half of the inning to keep the Warriors in front 1-0.
 
Riley Way was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and stole a base in the second inning. He came around to score on a double by Dillon Plew to grow the lead to 2-0.
 
Benedictine Mesa took the lead in the bottom of the third on four hits off starter Blackman. Jesse Parker came on in relief with a runner on in the top of the fourth and retired the next three Redhawks. He completed a 1-2-3 fifth and sixth inning.
 
LC State evened things up in the top of the seventh, starting with a single by Johnson. A base hit by Dalton Harum moved him to third before a sacrifice fly by Aidan Nagle tied the game 3-3.
 
Matt James came up big with a solo shot to give the Warriors the lead in the top of the eighth. He ripped an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left to put LC State in front 4-3.
 
The Redhawks scratched across an unearned run in the eighth to tie the game once again. They held LC off the board to force extra innings.
 
A.J. Davis opened up the 11^th inning with a single to left and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Way. Plew took a pitch off the arm to put two on before Johnson laced a ball into the gap in left center to plate the two go-ahead runs.
 
Thomason worked around a leadoff single in the home half of the 11^th to end the game with LC in front 6-4.
 
Johnson and Harum led the Warriors with three hits each, and Johnson knocked in three runs.
 
Warrior pitching struck out 10 batters, led the Thomason with five. Parker struck out three in four innings, giving up one hit, and Blackman recorded a pair of punchouts in three innings.
 
LC State Baseball wraps up the road trip on Friday with a doubleheader at Arizona Christian. Game one is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. PT.