KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The No. 5 LC State Baseball team picked up two Cascade Conference victories at Oregon Tech on Saturday in a doubleheader sweep by scores of 6-3 and 2-1.
Justin Mazzone had six hits on the day, and LC pitching was solid from the first pitch to the last.
The Warriors improve to 43-4 on the season and 14-3 in CCC play.
"Our effort on the mound was excellent today against a very good OIT team," Head Coach
Jake Taylor said. "Trent (Sellers) and Eric (Chavarria) gave us quality starts and our bullpen was exceptional in both games. Offensively, we did just enough to win today. We will need to be tougher down the stretch in the batter's box."
GAME ONE: LC State def. Oregon Tech 6-3
Riley Way led off the game with a double to right and took third on a flyout. An RBI-groundout by
Aidan Nagle brought in the game's first run, but a run by Oregon Tech evened things up in the bottom of the inning.
The Owls jumped in front in the fourth, but the Warriors answered in the top of the fifth. Mazzone doubled and courtesy runner
Coy Stout scored on a base hit by
Zach Threlfall.
The back-and-forth continued in the home half of the inning when OIT took a 3-2 lead. A double by
Sam Linscott helped LC gain momentum in the sixth before scoring on an infield single off the bat of Mazzone.
Luke White gave the Warriors the lead in the eighth with a two-run blast. Linscott legged out an infield single before White hit his 16
th big fly of the year to make it a 5-3 LC advantage.
Greg Blackman struck out a pair in the bottom of the inning to make it a quick 1-2-3 inning.
Way,
A.J. Davis, Linscott and White all walked to bring in a run in the ninth, and Blackman closed out the contest with the Warriors ahead 6-3.
Linscott and Mazzone each had three hits in the game and White knocked in three runs.
Trent Sellers struck out eight in his five innings and allowed three runs. Blackman earned the win in relief, striking out six in four innings. He did not allow a run.
GAME TWO: LC State def. Oregon Tech 2-1
The Warriors took advantage of OIT mistakes in the first inning of game two when Way walked and moved to third on a botched pickoff attempt. A groundout by Davis gave LC the early lead.
The Owls wasted no time responding to tie the game in the bottom of the second.
Eric Chavarria struck out the side in order in the third, and a solo shot by Threlfall gave the Warriors a one-run advantage in the fourth. Nagle cut down at the plate to end the frame and maintain the LC lead.
Joe Ball took over on the mound in the sixth with two on and two outs and got LC out of a jam. He worked a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, then handed the ball to
Cameron Smith in the eighth with two outs. Smith struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning.
Smith sat OIT down in order in the ninth, ending the game with a strikeout.
Mazzone led the offense with three hits and Threlfall had two. Davis and Threlfall each drove in a run. Chavarria earned his seventh win of the season after going 5.2 innings. He struck out four and gave up one run. Ball was solid in relief, and Smith earned the save after going 1.1 innings with two strikeouts.
The series concludes on Sunday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. in Klamath Falls.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
