LEWISTON, ID – No. 20 LC State and Oregon Tech split Sunday’s Cascade Conference doubleheader to split the weekend series with two wins each. The Warriors won the first game 7-6 before OIT won the nightcap 11-6. Charlie Updegrave tied the Cascade Conference record for career home runs in the second game of the day with his 39th homer
The split has the LC State record at 19-10 overall and 16-5 in CCC play.
GAME ONE: No. 20 LC State def. Oregon Tech 7-6
Oregon Tech tallied the first two runs of the game, and LC State matched that in the third inning. Anthony Karagiannopoulos and Jack Sheward were each by a pitch and Charlie Updegrave put the Warriors on the board with an RBI-double down the left field line. A sacrifice fly by Jakob Marquez evened the score 2-2 through three frames.
Despite strong defensive plays around the infield, the Owls added a run in the top of the fourth to regain the lead, but Bulla Ephan quickly put the Warriors back in front.
Abe Affholter doubled to lead off the home half of the fourth inning and Ephan made it 4-3 LC State with a two-run shot into the bleachers in left. A three-run home run by OIT’s Tyler Horner kept the back-and-forth going with a 6-4 advantage for the Owls. Zak Sullivan took over on the mound with two outs in the fifth and ended the inning.
LC State cut into the Oregon Tech lead with a run in the sixth. Ephan walked and courtesy runner Alex Sol took over on the bases. He took second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Evan Overmars. A ground ball hit by Anthony Karagiannopulos knocked in Sol to cut the difference to one run, 6-5.
Ephan came up clutch again in the seventh with a two-out, two-run double. Signorelli and Noah Weintraub tallied back-to-back singles and Ephan drove in both with a double to gap in left center to give the Warriors a 7-6 lead.
The Owls singled to lead off the top of the ninth and Zachary Ediger came out of the bullpen, and a diving catch by Sheward in left ended the game.
STAT RECAP
Ephan went 3-for-3 to lead LC State and drove in four runs.
Jantzen Lucas tossed 4.2 innings and struck out three. Sullivan earned his first win with 3.1 scoreless innings pitched, and Ediger got the save with his 1-2-3 ninth inning.
GAME TWO: Oregon Tech def. No. 20 LC State 11-6
The Owls used two hits and an LC State error to plate three runs in the top of the first inning, then added two more in the third for a 5-0 lead.
Sheward drove in the first runs for the Warriors in the home half of the third after Karagiannopoulos singled to center to start the offense. Sheward lined a ball over the wall in left to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Jake Green worked a 1-2-3 top of the fourth that ended with an outfield assist by Weintraub in center to cut down a runner trying to stretch a single into a double.
LC State responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth after Signorelli walked. Garrett Bevacqua singled to move Signorelli to third and he scored on a passed ball to make it a 5-3 deficit.
Green worked a quick top of the fifth and Updegrave tied things up in the bottom before LC State took the lead. Sheward singled to left and Updegrave tied the CCC record for career home runs with his 39th to make it 5-5. Marquez was hit by a pitch to keep the inning going and was lifted for courtesy runner Spencer Zeller. Errors on balls hit by Weintraub and Affholter put the Warriors in front 6-5.
The Owls tallied a run in the sixth to tie the game before Cabrera doubled up a runner at first on a flyout to end the threat. OIT took the lead in the top of the seventh with a three-run frame before Robby Butenschoen came on in relief. He retired back-to-back batters to get the Warriors out of the inning trailing 9-6.
A double play ended an OIT threat in the top of the eighth, but two runs came around to score in the top of the ninth. The Warriors were unable to respond.
STAT RECAP
Sheward led LC State with two hits and both Sheward and Updegrave drove in two runs.
The Warriors used six different pitchers with Joey Estrada, Green, Tucker Grote, Levi Anderson, Butenschoen and Zachary Allegro seeing time on the mound.
UP NEXT
The Warriors host Warner Pacific (Ore.) next weekend in a four-game Cascade Conference series at Harris Field.
