LA GRANDE, Ore. – Lightning was not the only thing lighting up the sky in La Grande on Saturday when No. 5 LC State Baseball smashed eight home runs in a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Oregon.
Brandon Nguyen and
Izzy Madariaga each hit three on the day and Nguyen drove in seven runs. The first victory of the day marked the 300
th for coach
Jeremiah Robbins at LC State, and he now holds a record of 301-75 at the helm of the Warriors.
The wins move the LC State record to 31-4 overall and 23-4 in Cascade Conference play.
GAME ONE: No. 5 LC State def. EOU 16-6
The Warriors batted around in the top of the first to strike for an early advantage.
Jackson Jaha drew a walk and scored on a two-run home run off the bat of
Izzy Madariaga, then back-to-back hits by
Bryce Johnson and
Noah Weintraub kept the inning going. A wild pitch plated Johnson for a 3-0 lead.
After a 1-2-3 inning on the mound for
Evan Canfield,
Brandon Nguyen crushed the first pitch of the top of the second over the wall in center field to continue the offensive attack. Johnson added a solo shot of his own to make it a 5-0 game.
Nguyen hit his second home run of the contest in the top of the fourth before EOU tallied its first run of the game in the home half of the fifth inning.
LC State answered with a four-run sixth inning to put the game away. Jaha doubled to get the frame going and scored on a base hit by Madariaga. Johnson continued the stretch with a double and Weintraub cleared the bases with a three-run homer to grow the lead to 10-1.
The Mounties took advantage of pitching miscues in the bottom of the sixth before a three-run home run cut the lead to 10-4.
Joey Estrada came on in relief of
Tyler Logan and retired three straight batters to get the Warriors out of the inning.
Estrada faced the minimum in the seventh and LC State added three runs in the eighth.
Sam Weber was hit by a pitch before back-to-back doubles by
Jackson Reed and
Kooper Jones drove in two runs.
Bo Stinson took over on the bases for Jones and scored on a single by Nguyen to stretch the margin to 13-4.
EOU tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth before
Zach Elsos was handed the ball and induced an inning-ending double play.
The Warriors produced a long two-out rally in the top of the ninth. Weber was hit by a pitch and stole second, then scored on a base hit by Reed. Jones and
Payton Smith kept the inning going with back-to-back hits that pushed the score to 16-6.
Elsos struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to close out the contest.
STAT RECAP
Nguyen, Johnson and Reed each had three hits in the contest. Nguyen, Madariaga and Weintraub drove in three runs apiece and Johnson scored three times.
Canfield earned his sixth win of the season on the mound with five strikeouts in five innings. Estrada and Elsos each fanned three in their outings.
GAME TWO: No. 5 LC State def. EOU 10-2
The Warrior offense carried its momentum into game two with a three-run frame to start the contest. Nguyen hit the first pitch of the game over the wall in right, and a single by Jaha was followed by a two-run homer by Madariaga to make it 3-0 after just eight pitches.
EOU responded with a home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the first, but
Mason Goodson settled in with quick innings in the second and third.
LC State added to the lead in the fourth with three more runs.
Spencer Zeller sent a double to right center and Jones walked to put two on. Consecutive singles by Smith and Nguyen made it 6-1.
Goodson worked the Warriors out of a jam in the fourth with a strikeout and double play, and another home run by Madariaga pushed the advantage to 7-1 in the fifth. Goodson faced the minimum in the home half of the inning with the help of another double play, but EOU tallied a run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 7-2.
The game was paused for lightning in the top of the eighth after free passes put Zeller and Weber on base, and the Warriors wasted no time adding on after play resumed. Nguyen was the first batter to the plate after the break and sent a double to left to drive in a run. Jaha walked with the bases loaded before a wild pitch made it 10-2.
Lennartson made quick work of the Mounties in the final two innings with another double play turned and three more strikeouts.
STAT RECAP
Nguyen added three more hits and four more RBI to his day and Madariaga drove in another three runs.
Goodson and Lennartson each struck out five batters in the contest. Goodson earned his fifth win with 5.1 innings and Lennartson was awarded his fourth save with 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball.
UP NEXT
The Warriors conclude the series at Eastern Oregon on Sunday with a doubleheader set for 11 a.m.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
