LEWISTON, ID – The No. 24 LC State Warriors slugged past the Corban Warriors on Friday in a doubleheader sweep to start the weekend. The hosting Warriors, the visiting team on the scoreboard after the location change, scored 26 runs between the two days.
The wins improve the LC State record to 12-7 on the season and 9-2 in Cascade Conference play.
GAME ONE: No. 24 LC State def. Corban 15-5 (7 inn.)
Evan Canfield struck out the first batter he faced, and Bulla Ephan erased a runner on the bases with a caught stealing in the bottom of the first to keep the game scoreless. Corban threatened in the second with runners on the corners and one out before Canfield fanned back-to-back batters to end the inning.
The LC State Warriors took the lead in the top of the fourth inning with a seven-spot. Izzy Madariaga doubled down the right field line and Ephan reached on a fielder’s choice. Back-to-back singles by Abe Affholter and Anthony Karagiannopoulos were followed by a sacrifice fly by Ike George to put LC State in front 2-1.
A triple by Jack Sheward and double by Charlie Updegrave kept the inning going before Jakob Marquez put an exclamation point on the frame with a two-run blast to right center. LC State led 7-1 after the top of the fourth.
Corban answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame with three straight hits before a strikeout and a diving play at second by Madariaga kept the advantage at 7-3.
LC State added on in the fifth. George and Sheward drew back-to-back walks and George scored on a double by Updegrave. Marquez homered for the second time in the contest, this time from the left side of the plate, for a three-run shot. With his home run in the fourth inning on the right side of the plate, he became the first LC State Warrior sine 2013 to homer from both sides of the plate in a game.
The three-run home run had the LC State lead at 11-3.
A run scored for Corban in the fifth and the visiting Warriors threatened for more, but Sheward minimized the damage with a caught fly ball in left field before cutting down a runner at the plate to end the inning.
Ephan drilled a three-run shot to left in the seventh after Updegrave singled and Dominc Signorelli walked to put two on. Affholter and Seth Nelson tallied back-to-back doubles to plate one more to make it 15-4.
Corban struck for a solo home run off of Zak Sullivan in his second inning of work, but LC State was unphased.
STAT RECAP
Updegrave tallied three hits in the contest including two doubles and Marquez drove in five runs with his two home runs. Madariaga, Affholter and Karagiannopoulos each had two hits.
Canfield struck out four in his five innings to earn his fourth win. Sullivan fanned two in two innings.
GAME TWO: No. 24 LC State def. Corban 11-5
George dropped a seeing-eye double in the gap to leadoff the second game and scored on a base hit by Marquez to give LC State an early 1-0 lead. Jadon Williamson struck out the side in the frame.
LC State added another run in the second after Evan Overmars was hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt by Karagiannopoulos. A base hit by George made it 2-0. Williamson added a punchout in the bottom of the inning before a double play by Williamson, Karagiannopoulos and Garrett Bevacqua ended the frame.
The LC State Warriors put up another two runs in the top of the third. Updegrave and Marquez notched back-to-back doubles to plate a run and Alex Sol took over on the bases for Marquez and came around to score on a wild pitch for a 4-0 advantage.
An LC State error allowed for a three-run inning for Corban despite a pair of strikeouts by Williamson. All runs in the frame were unearned.
Karagiannopoulos was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a double by George in the fourth. A base hit by Sheward plated both and a 1-2-3 inning by Williamson kept the margin at 6-3. Doubles by Bevacqua and Karagiannopoulos grew the lead further and an RBI knock by George made it 8-3 in the fifth.
Williamson struck out two more in the bottom of the fifth before handing the ball over to Jackson Cloud in the sixth. He gave up two runs in the sixth to bring Corban within three, 8-5, but LC State responded in the top of the seventh.
George led off the seventh inning with a solo shot and Sheward doubled down the left field line. Updegrave stepped to the plate next and demolished a two-run shot well past the wall in center field for an 11-5 advantage.
After a scoreless eighth, Cloud closed things out in the ninth.
STAT RECAP
George went 5-for-6 with three RBI to lead LC State in game two. Sheward, Updegrave and Marquez each added two hits.
Williamson earned the win and struck out nine in five innings. He did not allow an earned run. Cloud earned the save with a four-inning outing.
