KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The No. 7 LC State Baseball team opened the four-game set at Oregon Tech on Friday with a pair of victories (15-8 and 16-5). The Warriors tallied double-digits in both games to stretch their double-digit scoring streak to seven games and the winning streak to 15.
The Warrior offense combined for 29 hits between the two games and the LC State bullpen provided the support needed to maintain the wins.
GAME 1: LC State def. Oregon Tech 15-8
Matt James put the Warriors on the board with his fifth big fly of the season to make it a 1-0 lead.
A.J. Davis pushed the lead to 3-0 with a two-strike count with two outs.
Riley Way reached on a fielder's choice to set up the two-run shot for his counter part up the middle.
The Owls responded with three of their own in their half of the second to even things up. OIT did its damage with a hit-by-pitch and three hits off
Alec Holmes before adding on with a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. A three-run blast by OIT's Dalton Daly off
Tallon Thomason in relief made it a five-run inning.
LC State cut into the OIT lead with a run in the sixth. James opened the inning with a double to left and was lifted for courtesy runner
Alex Light. Light, a Lewiston native, came around to score on a single by LHS teammate Way to bring the deficit to 8-4.
The Warriors continued to chip away in the top of the seventh with a run to make it an 8-5 game.
Dillon Plew drew a walk before
Brock Ephan and
Aidan Nagle strung together back-to-back singles to plate Plew. James drove in a run on a fielder's choice to cut the OIT lead to two runs after a single by
Luke White loaded the bases. The Owls led 8-6 through seven.
LC State regained the lead in the eighth with a three-run rally. Plew knocked in Way, who singled to start the inning, with his first triple of the season before scoring the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Ephan. Nagle knocked in the go-ahead on a two-out single.
The Warriors manufactured six insurance runs in the top of the ninth, starting with a double by James.
Sam Linscott took first on a hit-by-pitch to move courtesy runner Light to second, and a sacrifice bunt by Way moved both into scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Davis scored a run before an RBI-single by Plew plated Linscott.
Johnson kept the inning going and extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double off the wall in right center to drive in a run. After an RBI single by Ephan, Nagle drilled a ball over the wall for a two-run shot to cap the LC scoring in game 1.
Thomason finished the game to earn his sixth win of the season. He struck out six in his 5.1 innings.
Way, Plew, Nagle and James each tallied three hits in the contest. Nagle knocked in four while Davis knocked in three. Plew, Ephan and James each knocked in a pair and Plew scored three runs.
"We had a bit of a slow start but chipped away and were able to pull away in the later innings," Head Coach
Jake Taylor said. "Tallon was fantastic out of the bullpen."
GAME 2: LC State def. Oregon Tech 16-5 (7 innings)
LC State struck first again in game two with the help of a two-RBI double off the bat of Ephan. A walk to Plew and a single by Johnson set the stage for Ephan's two-bagger into left center. Both Ephan and Johnson extended their hitting streak to 13 and 11, respectively.
Dalton Harum picked up on the momentum from the first inning and carried it into the second with a two-run home run to left center. A single by James opened the inning before Harum sent his fourth big fly of the season over the wall.
Warrior starter
Trent Sellers struck out the side in both the first and second inning to get his day off to a solid start. He added two more punchouts but allowed a run without giving up a hit in the third.
LC State added three in the top of the fourth after free passes put James, Harum and Light (courtesy running for Zach Threfall) on to load the bases. A balk brought in a run before Way knocked in two with a base hit up the middle. The speedster stole both second and third and scored on a single by Plew.
Sellers ran into trouble in the fourth when he walked and hit a batter while giving up a pair of hits.
Lucas Gregory took over on the mound with the bases loaded and one out. Two hits brought in three runs before two strikeouts ended the inning. LC led 8-5 through four.
Harum added his second home run of the game with a solo shot to begin the fifth inning and Gregory sat OIT down in order.
LC State continued to add on to its lead in the sixth. A double down the left field line by Nagle with Johnson and Ephan in scoring position brought in both, and a walk to Threlfall brought in another run to make it 12-5.
Brooks Juhasz took over on the mound in the sixth and allowed one hit before getting LC State back into the dugout.
A single by Plew and two hit batters and a fielder's choice brought in a run. James delivered again with a three-run shot, his second home run of the day, to make it a 16-5 ball game.
A strikeout by Juhasz ended the game in the seventh inning with the Warriors ahead 16-5.
Plew, Ephan, James and Harum each had two hits in the game. Nagle, James and Harum all drove in three while Johnson, James and Harum each scored three times.
"We were able to score early and maintain the pressure throughout the game," Taylor said.
Gregory earned his first win as a Warrior after striking out tree in 1.2 innings of relief. Sellers collected nine punchouts in his 3.1 innings and Juhasz closed things out with a pair of strikeouts in two innings. The LC State bullpen did not allow a run or walk a batter.
"I thought, overall, we gave away too many free passes today but ultimately our offense produced runs consistently," Taylor said.
LC wraps up the season series with OIT on Saturday in a twin bill starting at 11 a.m. in Klamath Falls, Ore.
Stay up to date on all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
