LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 4 LC State Baseball team is off to its best start in program history with a record of 21-1. The Warriors, who had never before won the 21
st game of the season after going 19-1, accomplished the feat in the first half of Saturday's twin bill.
Trent Sellers was electric on the mound with 10 strikeouts in six innings, and the LC offense did the rest.
"Trent gave us another solid start.," Head Coach
Jake Taylor said. "He competed without his best stuff, but gave us a competitive outing. Harrison (Grow) continues to improve out of the pen."
The LC Warriors faced a tougher battle in the second game of the day, trailing 3-1 after the top of the sixth, but battled back to sweep the visiting Corban University Warriors.
"(Eric) Chavarria also competed and allowed our offense to group some runs later in the game," Taylor added. "Cam (Smith) came in from the pen in a tough spot and was sharp."
GAME ONE: LC State def. Corban 11-1 (7 Innings)
The LC Warriors put up five runs in the bottom of the first and sent all nine batters to the plate.
Riley Way opened the frame with a double down the left field line, and three straight singles by
A.J. Davis,
Aidan Nagle and
Sam Linscott made it 2-0. An error put
Luke White on to load the bases before a base hit by
Nick Seamons brought in a pair. A
Matt James fielder's choice finished up the scoring in the inning.
Sellers fanned two in both the third and fourth innings before a home run by Way sparked a four-run fourth inning. Davis walked to follow up the solo shot before consecutive singles by Nagle, Linscott and White pushed the advantage to 7-0.
Justin Mazzone was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in one more.
Corban put up its first run of the game in the top of the sixth, but LC State responded with a pair in the home half of the inning. Seamons walked before stealing second, then took third on a groundout. James hammered a ball to left for a two-run shot to make it 11-1.
Harrison Grow took over on the mound in the seventh and struck out two to end the game via the 10-run rule.
Nagle led the offense with three hits, while Way, Linscott, Seamons and James each tallied two. James drove in four runs, and Linscott and Seamons both knocked in two.
Sellers earned his fifth win of the season behind 10 strikeouts in six innings. He gave up one run on four hits.
GAME TWO: LC State def. Corban 7-4
Chavarria struck out three through his first three innings on the mound, and an RBI-double by Way gave the LC Warriors the lead in the bottom of the third.
The visiting Warriors took their first lead of the day in the top of the fifth with a two-run homer by Ryan Clay. They extended the advantage to 3-1 in the sixth.
LC State regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Linscott singled and White reached on an error, and both moved into scoring position on a base bit by Seamons. Threlfall knocked in the pair with a single up the middle to put the hosting Warriors ahead 4-3.
Cameron Smith got LC out of a jam in the seventh. With two on and no outs, the sophomore came in and retired the next three batters. Corban evened the score 4-4 in the process, but a monster shot by White in the home half of the inning gave LC a three-run cushion. Way led off the frame with a single and took second on an error. A flyout moved him to third before an RBI-knock by Linscott put LC up 5-4. White stepped to the plate next and sent a ball over the bleachers in left for his fifth home run of the season.
Smith closed out the game with two strikeouts in the ninth.
Way and Linscott each tallied two hits in the contest, while White and Threlfall each drove in two runs. Chavarria fanned seven in his five innings, and Smith struck out four in three innings to earn the win.
LC State hosts Corban in a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 11 a.m. to wrap up the homestand.
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