KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – It may not have been pretty from the mound, but the seventh-ranked LC State Baseball team got the job done to complete the sweep of the Oregon Tech Owls on Saturday. Both victories came in come-from-behind fashion and featured key performances out of the bullpen and at the plate.
 
The Warriors trailed 6-0 in the first game of the day before an offensive explosion produced and eight-run fifth inning and two four-run innings late in the game for a 17-9 victory. LC State pitching struggled in the second half of the doubleheader, but timely hitting helped push the Warriors to a 12-11 win.
 
LC State has now scored double-digit runs in its last nine games and is on a 16-game winning streak.
 
GAME 1: LC State def. Oregon Tech 17-9
OIT's Dalton Daily opened the scoring with his conference-leading 10^th home run of the season, a two-run shot, off starter Bryson Spagnuolo. The Owls struck for four more off five hits in the second before Jake Taylor handed the ball to Eric Chavarria. He struck out a batter to end the rally.
 
Chavarria struck out two more in the home half of the third.
 
The Warriors got on the board in the top of the fourth thanks to a leadoff double by A.J. Davis. A groundout moved him to third before and RBI-groundout by Jack Johnson cut into the OIT lead at 6-1.
 
After another 1-2-3 inning on defense, Chavarria had retired seven straight.
 
LC State batted around and scored all of its runs with two outs to make it a brand-new ballgame in the fifth. Matt James singled to put a runner on and courtesy runner Alex Light took both second and third on wild pitches before coming around to score on a single by Riley Way. Davis moved him to third and an RBI base hit by Dillon Plew plated the third LC run. Johnson walked to load the bases and set the stage for a two-run double off the bat of Brock Ephan. A wild pitch brought Johnson around to tie the game 6-6.
 
Luke White gave the Warriors the lead to continue the two-out rally in the fifth. A single up the middle was followed by a throwing error to bring in a pair before a walk to Way with the bases juiced made it 9-6 in favor of LC State.
 
OIT responded with a run in the bottom of the inning, but a rundown on the bases ended the threat. He retired the side in order in the sixth.
 
The Warriors added eight runs between the seventh and eighth innings, scoring four in each. James got the inning started with a base hit to left and Light, running for the catcher, scored on a double by White. Way singled and Davis walked before Plew drove in a pair with a double. A sacrifice fly by Ephan capped the inning.
 
James homered for the third straight game to leadoff the eighth. With two outs, Way singled and Davis walked to again set Plew up for a two-RBI double. Johnson doubled to plate Plew and make it 17-8.
 
Jesse Parker took over on the mound and struck out a pair in the eighth before adding two more in the ninth. The Owls scored once in the ninth.
 
Way, Plew, James and White each collected three hits while Plew knocked in five. Davis scored four runs while Way and Light each came across three times.
 
Chavarria got the win in relief after tossing 5.1 innings and striking out six. Parker was solid in relief and struck out four in the final two innings.
 
"Chavarria was stellar out of the bullpen and held OIT in check," Taylor said. "It gave our offense a chance to get going. He was the difference in the game."
 
GAME 2: LC State def. Oregon Tech 12-11
Cole Susee ran into trouble early in the contest, giving up three runs on two hits to put OIT in front. LC answered with a run in the top of the second when a run scored on a balk.
 
Way reached on an error to start the LC half of the third and took third on a single by Davis. Both scored on groundouts to tie the game 3-3, but the Owls regained the lead in the home half of the third with three runs on three hits before Greg Blackman took over and got LC out of the inning.
 
"GT (Blackman) was also very competitive after we, once again, started out with a deficit," Taylor said.
 
LC State cut the deficit to one in the fourth with a pair of runs on a two-run shot by Sam Linscott, his second of the season. They tied it up in the sixth after a double by James led to an RBI-single by Linscott.
 
A walk to Zach Threfall kept the inning going and a triple by Way brought in a pair to grow the lead to 9-6. Aidan Nagle sent a solo shot over the wall in response to an OIT run to keep the Warriors in front by three.
 
Matt Driver made his season debut on the mound in the seventh after returning from injury and walked the leadoff batter. A single and sacrifice fly cut the lead to two.
 
The Warriors took advantage of a walk to Davis in the eighth when he came in to score on a hit by Johnson. The Owls did not back down, however, and evened the game in the bottom of the inning, 11-11.
 
James continued his tear with a single in the ninth and was lifted for pinch runner Light. Linscott and way both singled, setting up a bases loaded situation for Davis. An error by the Owls plated the go-ahead run for LC State and the Warriors took a 12-11 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
 
Taylor stuck with Cameron Smith in the ninth after taking over for Driver in the eighth. Smith hit and walked a batter to start the inning before striking out the next three batters to end the game and complete the sweep.
 
"Cam was a bit shaky to start the bottom of the ninth, but settled in to retire the middle of their lineup," Taylor said. "We are fortunate to come away with another sweep this weekend against a motivated and competitive OIT squad.:
 
Way and Johnson both extended their hitting streaks to 13 games, while Ephan saw his end. Linscott led the team with three hits in the game, and Way, Nagle and James each had two. Linscott also knocked in three runs while Way and Johnson had two RBI. Six different Warriors scored twice.
 
The Warriors travel to Corban next week for a four-game set in Salem, Ore. They will open the series on April 9 at 5 p.m.
 
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