CALDWELL, Idaho – Even though Lewis-Clark State College just installed a new outfield fence at Harris Field, perhaps it's already time to paint it a different color, or even – heaven forbid – change dugouts.
 
Just something to make the Warrior baseball team feel like they are on the road because of what they are doing to the opposition this season.
 
On Saturday, LC State continued its road domination by pounding out 26 hits to sweep a Cascade Collegiate Conference doubleheader from College of Idaho 12-4 and 8-3 at Wolfe Field.
 
In 11 road games this season, LC is averaging 11.5 runs and 14 hits per outing. In the first three games at Caldwell in this four-game series, LC has scored 41 runs on 48 hits. In its eight home games, the Warriors are averaging a little more than six runs and eight hits per outing.
 
"That's a great question," LC State senior Brock Ephan said when asked for his opinion about the difference. "Maybe just getting away, a new atmosphere, something different. I don't know."
 
Ephan, however, found Wolfe Field to his liking on Saturday as he homered in both games and tied Aidan Nagle and Dillon Plew for the team lead with five on the season.
 
The sweep improves LC State to 17-2 on the season and 10-1 in conference play, while College of Idaho slips to 13-16 overall and 5-10 in league play.
 
The two teams wrap up the four-game series on Sunday with a single game at 10 a.m.
 
GAME ONE: LC State def. College of Idaho 12-4
Ephan provided LC State's only offense in the first four innings of the opener with a solo home run. The home run ended a 15-plus scoreless inning streak by C of I starter Connor Root.
 
In the fifth, the Warriors got to Root and broke a 1-1 tie by sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six runs on six hits. Nagle started the one-out rally with a double and raced home on a single by Riley Way. A.J. Davis followed with a single and both came in on a single by Plew.  After Ephan reached on an error, Luke White belted a three-run home run to make it 7-1.
 
Entering the College of Idaho series, White had two home runs and nine RBI on the season. In the three games against the Yotes, he has doubled those numbers.
 
"He's explosive," LC Coach Jake Taylor said of White, who drove in five in Friday's 21-2 win that included a grand slam. "We know what he can do. That's why we keep running him in there. It's just a matter of time before guys feel good at the plate. He is definitely trending upward."
 
College of Idaho answered with three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth on a dropped fly ball. But it was a tough day to be an outfielder as the games were played in cold and gusty winds with intermediate bright sunshine.
 
The Warriors broke loose with a five-run seventh inning to make it 12-4. Zach Threlfall, Nagle and Way had RBI singles and then a double steal by Way and Nagle produced a run. Plew's RBI single finished the scoring.
 
Plew went 4-for-6 with three RBI, while Nagle went 3-for-5 with one RBI.
 
Trent Sellers pitched well for LC but became a little rattled in the fifth after the dropped fly ball. He was relieved in the inning by Cole Susee, who walked the first two batters he faced before retiring the next seven in a row to pick up his first win of the season. Bryson Spagnuolo retired six of the seven he faced to finish the game.
 
GAME TWO: LC State def. College of Idaho 8-3
College of Idaho picked up two hits in the first inning and didn't get another hit until the bottom of the ninth when it trailed 8-1 and rallied for two runs. Three Warriors pitchers combined on a four-hitter, led by starter Eric Chavarria, who gave up a run in the first and then retired 13 of the next 14 he faced. He improved to 2-1 on the season.
 
Reliever Brooks Juhasz retired all six batters he faced and Eli Shubert had a solid eighth before running into some trouble in the ninth.
 
"We had some really good pitching today," Taylor said.
 
The Warriors had plenty of scoring opportunities in the contest, but wound up leaving 14 baserunners stranded, including 10 in the first four innings.
 
White put the Warriors on the board in the top of the first when he drew a bases-loaded walk. After the Coyotes answered in the bottom of the inning, LC put up three in the third. Jack Johnson singled, Ephan was hit by a pitch and the two pulled off a double steal to put runners at second and third. Nagle followed with a two-run single and later scored on a double by Sam Linscott for a 4-1 lead.
 
After an error scored an LC run in the fourth, the Warriors put up three more in the fifth for an 8-1 advantage. Johnson drove in a run with a double and Ephan followed with a two-run blast.
 
"I was just trying to see something over the plate and elevate it," the senior first baseman/designated hitter said. "I tried to stay away from something down and just swing through it."
 
The Warriors, however, collected only one hit over the final four innings.
 
"We played well the second half of the first game and the first half of the second game offensively," Taylor said. "I thought we had pretty good pitching all day. Both starters had quality starts and we had some quality bullpens, some timely hits, and did some damage with two strikes and two outs."
 
Way, Johnson and Nagle had two hits apiece for LC in the game.
 
"Absolutely," Taylor said when asked if he liked where his team was at this point of the season. "I think there's always room for improvement. We will continue to get better with two strikes, continue to attack the field with our approach, get better out of the bullpen, and locate pitches better. We will keep improving, but yeah, I like where we are right now. I like the team chemistry. I think we are headed in the right direction."
 
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.