VANCOUVER, B.C. – Jantzen Lucas tossed a career-high seven innings and tied his career best with seven strikeouts to lead LC State to the title game of the Cascade Conference Championship tournament, presented by U.S. Bank. The Warrior offense produced five runs to back out Lucas' outing in the 5-3 victory.
LC State hit three home runs in the game with one each from
Jack Sheward,
Charlie Updegrave and
Jakob Marquez.
The Warriors face the winner of College of Idaho/Oregon Tech vs. British Columbia on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. C of I takes on OIT on Saturday at 6 p.m. and the winner will face UBC in an elimination game on Sunday at 11 a.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A solo shot by Marquez gave LC State an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
Ike George reached on an error in the third to set the stage for a two-run homer by Sheward. Updegrave followed with a big fly of his own to make it a 4-0 advantage for the Warriors.
Lucas worked his third straight 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third before UBC tallied its first run in the bottom of the fourth. The lefty struck out two in the fifth and the Warriors added on in the top of the sixth.
Brandon Cabrera walked to start the inning and stole second. A double by
Noah Weintraub drove in the fifth run of the game for LC State for a 5-1 lead.
A strikeout by Lucas and double play by the LC State defense erased a leadoff single in the home half of the sixth before another scoreless frame in the seventh.
Reliever
Zachary Ediger started his outing with a strikeout before the Thunderbirds scored a pair in the bottom of the eighth. Ediger limited the damage to two runs and retired UBC in order in the bottom of the ninth.
STAT RECAP
Weintraub led the offense with two hits and Sheward drove in two runs. The first five batters in the LC State lineup scored once.
Lucas earned his seventh win of the season after a career-best seven innings. He tied his career high with seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter. The senior allowed just one run on five hits. Ediger threw two innings of relief and gave up just one hit.
UP NEXT
The Warriors face the winner of College of Idaho/Oregon Tech vs. British Columbia on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. C of I takes on OIT on Saturday at 6 p.m. and the winner will face UBC in an elimination game on Sunday at 11 a.m.
LC State needs one win to clinch the tournament title. Should the Warriors lose, an if-necessary game will be played on Monday.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
