Baseball | 05.29.2021
Box Score LEWISTON, Idaho – Antonio Frias fired a six-hitter through eight innings and Faulkner University handed the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team its first shutout in 325 games with a 4-0 victory on opening day at the 64th annual Avista NAIA World Series at Harris Field on Friday night.
The victory moved the sixth-seeded Eagles (39-10) into Monday's late game where it will play the winner of Saturday's Central Methodist-Indiana Southeast contest. Third-seeded LC State (41-5) falls into the loser's bracket of the 10-team double elimination tournament and meets 10th seed Concordia of Nebraska in loser-out play at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Frias, a workhorse senior left-hander, improved to 12-0 on the season with his 131-pitch performance that featured 87 pitches for strikes and 13 strikeouts. He also walked three. July Sosa pitched the ninth and allowed a hit and struck out one.
Frias, who threw 24 pitches and then 145 pitches on back-to-back days in the Eagles' opening-round tournament action last week, proved his toughness in critical moments because the Warriors' had plenty to score. LC State left 13 baserunners stranded.
"We had some opportunities," LC State coach
Jake Taylor said. "I think we left 13 guys on base and 8 of them in scoring position. We couldn't come up with the hit when we needed it. We challenged the entire time. I was proud of our guys. We competed."
The Warriors entered tournament play averaging nine runs a game, but left the bases loaded in the third and seventh inning. The last time a Warrior team was shutout was in the 2015 season.
"Frias was everything we were told he was," Taylor said. "It seemed like any time we started challenging in the game, he got a little bit better. He made some pitches that got him out of jams because he was consistently in jams. To shut this team out is pretty impressive on his part.''
The Warriors played from behind nearly the entire game. Faulkner was able to put up three runs in the top of the second inning as Isaac Phillips started the scoring with his fourth home run of the season. John Michael Matthews singled, Justice Lucas walked and Justin Lara singled to drive in the second run. Sam Anthony added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Faulkner's final run came in the eighth when Shawn Ross hit a towering home run over the center-field fence, his 14th of the season. His home run came on the first pitch of the inning after the Warriors left the base loaded in the seventh.
"We just need to figure out how to come up with the clutch hits at the right time," Taylor said.
Riley Way had three of LC's seven hits in the game, while
Dalton Harum added two.
Three LC pitcher held the Eagles to eight hits. Started
Eric Chavarria took the loss as he allowed the three runs in the second inning.
Greg Blackman pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed three hits and one run. He also struck out six and walked two.
Tallon Thomason pitched two innings and gave up one hit with two strikeouts.
"I liked our pitching today," Taylor said. "Chav completed but didn't have his best stuff but GT (Blackman) was fantastic, gave us a chance to win. Tallon was the same, really good coming out of the pen."
LC State catcher
Zach Threlfall showed off his arm by throwing out two baserunners trying to steal.
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