LEWISTON, Idaho – The No. 4 LC State Warriors opened a Cascade Conference series against the Yotes of the College of Idaho on Friday and split the twin bill, taking game one 9-6 before falling in extra innings in the nightcap.
LC State is now 39-4 on the season and 10-3 in CCC play.
GAME ONE: LC State def. College of Idaho 9-6
The Warriors took advantage of a C of I error in the second when
Matt James reached with two outs.
A.J. Davis followed with a double off the wall in left to bring in the first run of the contest.
LC added on in the fourth after
Luke White singled,
Justin Mazzone was hit by a pitch and James singled to load the bases. A walk to Davis plated one before a groundout by
Pu'ukani De Sa brought in another.
Riley Way drew his third walk of the game before pulling off a double steal that brought James home.
C of I rallied in the sixth to even the score 4-4 before
Cameron Smith took over and ended the threat with a strikeout and flyout.
The Warriors regained the lead in the seventh with a four-run inning. LC did its damage with two outs, starting with a hit-by-pitch that put Mazzone on base. James walked and Davis drove in the go-ahead with a single up the middle. De Sa came to the plate next and launched the first home run of his career to make it 8-4.
Back-to-back singles by
Aidan Nagle and Linscott widened the gap to 9-4, and, despite a pair of C of I runs, Smith closed out the game with three strikeouts.
Linscott, White and Davis each had two hits in the game while Davis and De Sa each drove in three. Way walked three times.
Smith picked up the win after striking out six in 3.2 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and did not walk a batter. Sellers went 5.1 and fanned five, giving up three earned.
GAME TWO: College of Idaho def. LC State 6-5 (10 innings)
The Yotes put up a pair on a two-run blast off the bat of Skyler Sadora, but a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play with
Eric Chavarria on the mound and James behind the plate ended the frame.
LC State got one back in the home half of the inning behind two doubles by Way and Nagle. Chavarria fanned two in the second before a groundout sent the Warriors back to the plate.
After two more strikeouts by Chavarria, LC State jumped in front in the fourth. Three straight singles by James, Davis and
Dominic Signorelli brought the Warriors within one, and an RBI-groundout by Way tied the game.
Zach Threlfall knocked in the go-ahead run with a base hit to left.
Trevin Hope took over on the mound in the seventh and faced the minimum through his first two frames.
The Yotes knotted the score 4-4 in the top of the ninth, then added two in the 10
th. White homered in the LC half of the extra inning and
Charlie Updegrave punched a pinch-hit single through the infield, but the Warriors failed to make up the difference.
Way, Nagle and Davis each had two hits in the game. Chavarria went six and struck out seven. Hope fanned four in three frames.
Greg Blackman took the loss after throwing the 10
th and giving up a pair. LC did not walk a batter in the game.
The series is scheduled to continue on Saturday at noon, pending weather. Check lcwarriors.com for updates.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
