LAKE WALES, Fla. –
Nick Seamons became the 14
th Warrior to hit three home runs in a game and
Pu'ukani De Sa was unstoppable at the plate on Tuesday when the No. 2 LC State Baseball team outscored its opponents 27-2. The Warriors blew past NCCAA Fort Lauderdale 20-0 in seven innings, then traveled to (RV) Warner (Fla.) where they earned a 7-2 win.
Warrior pitching combined for 25 strikeouts in 16 innings between the two games.
LC State finished its season-opening trip with a 4-2 record.
"Good finish to the Florida trip today," Head Coach
Jake Taylor said. "We were able to gain valuable knowledge and experience about our team while playing some outstanding competition. We are looking forward to returning back home and getting back to work this weekend."
GAME ONE: No. 2 LC State def. Fort Lauderdale 20-0 (7 INN.)
Drake George struck out a batter to end the top of the first, and LC State got on the board in the home half of the inning.
Nick Seamons led the inning off with a single and
Isaiah Thomas reached on an error. A double by
Pu'ukani De Sa scored Seamons and put two in scoring position. Another error by Fort Lauderdale put
Sam Olsson on first to load the bases.
The advantage grew to 2-0 with an RBI-single by
Eric Mast.
Jack Sheward was awarded first base on a hit-by-pitch and
Leo Rivera drove in two with a base hit to left. LC State led 4-0 after the first after batting around.
LC State doubled its lead in the second. Seamons started the inning with a solo shot, his fourth homer in five games, and Thomas and De Sa notched back-to-back singles. Olsson cleared the bases with his first home run of the season to push the advantage to 8-0.
Mast kept UFTL off the board with a diving catch in left to end the top of the third.
Seamons connected for his second big fly in as many innings after a single by
Isaac Haws. The two-run blast made it 10-0 Warriors through three.
George struck out the side in the fourth to keep the Eagles scoreless. He fanned seven through his first four innings.
Mast hit his first home run of the season with one out in the bottom of the frame.
The Warriors went to the bullpen in the fifth and handed the ball to
Jace Taylor in his LC State debut. The righty struck out the first two batters he faced in a 1-2-3 inning.
Thomas smashed his first homer as a Warrior to start the fifth and De Sa followed with his second double of the contest.
Evan Overmars,
Noah Weintraub and
Bulla Ephan notched their first LC State hits in three straight at-bats to bring in De Sa and load the bases.
Charlie Tentinger and
Cruz Hepburn kept the inning going with back-to-back doubles to push the lead to 17-0 in the fifth. Back-to-back big flies by Seamons and Thomas made it a 20-0 ball game on seven straight hits.
LC State went to the pen again in the sixth when
Bryson Spagnuolo took the mound. He struck out two batters in the sixth and seventh innings to close out the game.
Seamons and De Sa each went 4-for-5. Seamons notched three home runs and a drove in five. Thomas was 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs, and Olsson knocked in three. LC State totaled 20 runs on 22 hits.
George earned the win after striking out seven in four innings. Taylor and Spagnuolo combined for six strikeouts in the final three innings to bring LC's total to 13 in seven innings. The Warriors gave up only three hits and did not walk a batter.
GAME TWO: No. 2 LC State def. (RV) Warner (Fla.) 7-2
Dominic Signorelli gave LC State a 1-0 lead in the second.
Leo Rivera reached on a fielder's choice before Signorelli hit a ball off the wall in center for an RBI-triple.
De Sa and Mast each singled and Rivera walked to load the bases. Signorelli brought in a run on an error to push the lead to 2-0.
Warner evened the score with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth off starter
Trevin Hope.
The Warriors took advantage of Warner miscues in the fifth.
Carter Booth and Thomas were each by a pitch and Booth took third on an error on a batted ball by Seamons. De Sa brought in the go-ahead with a sacrifice fly, and Seamons scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2 in favor of LC State.
Cameron Smith took over on the mound in the bottom of the fifth and struck out two in both the fifth and the sixth.
De Sa stayed hot at the plate with a solo shot in the top of the seventh, and Smith held the lead with two punchouts in the bottom of the frame.
Greg Blackman came on in relief in the eighth and worked LC out of a jam with a pair of strikeouts.
The Warriors added insurance runs thanks to the speed of Booth and Seamons. Booth singled and took second on passed ball and scored on a double by Seamons. De Sa brought in another run with is third hit of the contest to make it a 7-2 lead.
Blackman closed out the contest with a strikeout and two fly outs.
De Sa led LC in game two with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. He finished the day 7-for-9 and holds a nine-game hitting streak dating back to last season. Mast and Signorelli each had two hits and De Sa drove in three.
Seamons finished the day with five hits and has a seven-game hitting streak dating back to last season.
Hope went four innings and struck out three. Smith earned the win after striking out six in three scoreless innings. Blackman was awarded his second save of the season with three strikeouts in the final two innings.
UP NEXT
The Warriors will host (RV) UBC in the 2023 home opener Feb. 17-19.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
