Baseball | 05.07.2021

LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State Baseball team will begin its march through the postseason on Saturday when it opens the 2021 Cascade Conference Championship, presented by U.S. Bank. The fifth-ranked Warriors are among the field of three teams from the CCC and are the top seed after winning the regular season. Second-seeded Oregon Tech and third-seeded Corban will also be competing for their shot at a berth into the NAIA tournament.
 
The two teams out of Oregon will face each other in game 1 of the tournament at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Warriors will take on the OIT Hustlin' Owls in the second game of the day before matching up with the Corban Warriors in the nightcap.
 
No. 1 LEWIS-CLARK STATE WARRIORS (38-4, 30-2)
The Warriors enter the Cascade Conference tournament as the top seed after dominating the regular season. LC State finished up conference play with a record of 30-2 and 38-4 overall. A Warrior leads nearly every offensive category in the CCC and lead in multiple pitching stats. The team earned 11 all-conference honors and five Gold Gloves, as well as the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards.
 
Senior Brock Ephan, the Cascade Conference Player of the Year, has been a huge piece of the Warriors' success this season and leads the team in batting average (.401), slugging (.850), on-base percentage (.500), doubles (19), home runs (18) and RBI (69), along with other offensive categories. Lewiston native Riley Way leads the team in hits (72) and stolen bases (25). He has only been caught stealing three times this season and is hitting .385.
 
On the mound LC State is lead by Eric Chavarria's 2.73 ERA and Trent Sellers' 64 strikeouts. The Warriors are sixth in the NAIA in ERA this season at 3.43 and 13^th in opponent batting average at .235.
 
As a team, the Warriors lead the NAIA in runs scored per game (11.3) and RBI per game (10.2). They rank second in hits per game (12.9) and are third in fielding percentage (.977) and doubles per game (2.8). LC State is in the top five in total doubles (116) and home runs per game (2.0).
 
Of the two losses in conference play this season, one came at the hands of second-seeded Oregon Tech. The Warriors fell 4-1 in game 3 of the series but swept the Owls in the second four-game set in Klamath Falls. LC State combined to score 60 runs in the second series.
 
LC State outscored Corban 92-26 in the eight games in this season, including a 22-0 victory at Corban in April. The Warriors swept the season series against the Warriors from Salem, Ore.
 
No. 2 OREGON TECH HUSTLIN' OWLS (23-23, 18-14)
OIT has had one of the strongest season's in recent history under first-year head coach Jacob Garsez. At 18-14 in conference play, the Owls are one of two teams to defeat LC State during the season when they stunned the Warriors 4-1 in the first half of a doubleheader.
 
OIT's Micah Jio, Dalton Daily and Patrick Arman were named all-conference while Kellen Mendez earned a Gold Glove at first base and Michael Tarakhchyan did the same in the outfield.
 
Daily has been a threat at the plate all year and ranks second in the conference in home runs (14). The shortstop leads the CCC in assists (127) and doubles (21). He is fourth in batting average (.365), third in slugging (.693) and fifth in runs scored (50). Daily is second behind Way in hits with 70 and fourth in RBI (51) behind Ephan, Aidan Nagle and Dillon Plew.
 
Arman is third in the CCC in ERA (3.63) and leads the conference in innings pitched with 69.1. He ranks ninth in strikeouts (53) and is 5-2 on the season.
 
No. 3 CORBAN UNIVERSITY WARRIORS (21-27, 16-16)
The Warriors finished the CCC season with a .500 record, with half of their losses coming against LC State. The LC Warriors swept the season series against the Corban Warriors.
 
Sophomore Zack Simon was voted the Pitcher of the Year in the Cascade Conference and was named to the all-conference team. Catcher Keenan O'Brien earned a Gold Glove for his work behind the plate.
 
Simon leads the Cascade Conference in ERA at 1.93 and has struck out 50 batters in 56 innings. He has allowed just 12 earned runs this season and has walked only nine. Simon is tied for second in wins with six for a 6-2 record.
 
THE DETAILS
Oregon Tech and Corban will battle it out in the first game on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. LC State will take on OIT and Corban, respectively, following the first game. Sunday's matchups will depend on the first day of the double-elimination tournament.
 
Tickets are available at the LC State ticket office at the front of the Activity Center on Friday from 1-4 p.m. and 30 minutes before the start of the first game each day.
 
All games will be streamed on the Warrior Sports Network for a charge of $15 per day. Head to lcwarriors.com/watch to create an account and purchase a pass. KOZE will air the LC State games on the radio and live stats will be available. Head to the Cascade Conference Baseball Tournament Central page for all the links.
 
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.