LEWISTON, Idaho – Drake George put together a strong performance on the mound and game one and the Warrior offense did all it needed to for a pair of Cascade Conference victories over Eastern Oregon University on Friday. No. 7 LC State swept the twin bill by scores of 6-3 and 4-3 to take a 2-0 lead in the four-game series.
Drake George fanned 10 in his six-inning start to begin the day and was helped by home runs from Nick Seamons and Charlie Updegrave. Shane Spencer was solid in game two and Dominic Signorelli hit his conference-leading 10th home run of the season.
"Not our best baseball, but we ultimately found a way to win." Head Coach Jake Taylor said. "Starters in both games threw well and we did just enough offensively to escape on the right side of the score."
The wins improve the LC State record to 15-7 overall and 5-1 in CCC play. The series concludes tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. at Harris Field, weather permitting.
GAME ONE: No. 7 LC State def. Eastern Oregon 6-3
An acrobatic catch at the wall by center fielder Carter Booth and a strikeout by starter George were part of a 1-2-3 top of the first for LC State. Two runs by the Warriors gave LC State the lead after two innings.
Signorelli and Brandon Cabrera notched back-to-back singles to put two on before the game's first run scored on a double by Jack Sheward. A wild pitch plated Cabrera to make it 2-0.
EOU evened the score in the top of the third with two runs on four hits. George worked around a leadoff single in the fourth to keep the Mounties off the board. He struck out two more in the fifth.
After a base hit by Booth, Seamons put LC State back on top with a two-run blast in the home half of the fifth. Updegrave made it back-to-back big flies with a solo shot to right center. Cabrera kept the inning going with a single before taking second on a wild pitch. He scored on a base hit by Pu'ukani De Sa to push the advantage to 6-2.
George struck out the side in order in the top of the sixth to bring his total to 10. Jantzen Lucas took over on the mound in the seventh and struck out the first batter he faced. The lefty worked around a pair of singles with another punchout to end the inning. EOU tacked on a run in the eighth despite two more strikeouts by Lucas.
Cameron Smith came out of the Warrior bullpen with two on and one out and retired the next to Mountaineers to end the contest.
Cabrera and Sheward each had two hits and Seamons drove in two runs. George earned the win after striking out 10 batters in six innings. Lucas fanned five in 2.1 innings and Smith earned the save. George is now 4-0 on season and Smith has two saves.
GAME TWO: No. 7 LC State def. Eastern Oregon 4-3
Spencer worked a three-up, three-down first inning and the Warriors jumped in front 3-0 in the bottom of the frame.
Booth walked to lead off the inning and Seamons doubled to plate a run. Signorelli came up with two outs and drilled his 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot, to right to make it 3-0.
Two runs on two hits brought EOU within one in the top of the third before an error allowed the tying run to come around in the fifth. Jace Hanson came in in the top of the sixth worked LC State out of a jam and keep the game knotted 3-3.
The Warriors regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff double by Booth kickstarted the offense. Updegrave moved him over with a groundout and a base hit by Jake Gish put LC in front 4-3.
Hanson struck out two in the top of the eighth and Zachary Ediger closed out the ninth with a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
Jakob Marquez led the Warrior offense with two hits in the game and Signorelli had two RBI. Hanson earned the win after 2.1 innings of relief. Spencer struck out five in his 5.2 frames, Hanson tallied two punchouts and Ediger earned his second save.
UP NEXT
The Warriors wrap up the four-game Cascade Conference series on Saturday with a twin bill starting at 2 p.m. Stay tuned to social media and lcwarriors.com for schedule updates with rain in the forecast.
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