CALDWELL – The No. 13 Warrior offense returned in full force to open Saturday’s Cascade Conference doubleheader at the College of Idaho in a 14-4 victory, but did not come up with the clutch hits it needed in a 9-5 loss in game two.
LC State is now 21-11 overall and 6-8 in CCC play. The series concludes tomorrow with an Easter Sunday battle at 10 a.m.
GAME ONE: No. 13 LC State def. College of Idaho 14-4 (8 inn.)
The Yotes had the hot bats to start the first half of the twin bill with two runs in the bottom of the first. The LC State bats made their return in the top of the second.
Pu’ukani De Sa led the inning off with a single to second and advanced to third on a balk and wild pitch. A walk to Jack Sheward put two on before Dominic Signorelli doubled to put a run on the board. Back-to-back fly outs, with Jakob Marquez doing so in sacrifice fashion, plated the tying run.
C of I regained the lead in the home half of the inning, but the Warriors stuck back to take their first lead of the game in the top of the third. Carter Booth singled and Isaiah Thomas walked before a fly out moved Booth and Thomas stole second. Sheward came up with a big two-RBI single to bring both across and give LC a 4-3 advantage.
Starter Dallas McGill sat the Yotes down in order in the third and the Warriors increased the lead to 8-3 in the next frame. Signorelli walked, Sam Olsson singled and Marquez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Leo Rivera sent a sacrifice fly to center to make it 5-3, and Carter Booth made it a five-run difference with a three-run blast.
C of I added a run in the bottom of the fourth but LC put together a big inning in the sixth. Olsson started the frame with a single and Marquez drilled a two-run shot to make it 10-4. Rivera kept the inning going with a triple and Nick Seamons followed with a double to knock in Rivera. Seamons stole third to move within 90 feet of home and scored on an infield single by De Sa.
An RBI single by Rivera made it 13-4 in the seventh, and a double by Booth and single by De Sa made it a 14-4 game in the eighth. A double play and strikeout by Joe Ball ended the contest via the 10-run rule.
Ball earned the win after four innings of relief. He struck out four and did not allow a run. McGill threw four innings and also struck out four. He was charged with four earned runs.
Booth and De Sa led the offense with three hits each and Booth and Marquez each drove in three runs.
GAME TWO: College of Idaho def. No. 13 LC State 9-5
The momentum carried over into game two with LC State striking for two runs in the top of the first. Seamons led the game off with a double to right and Thomas put the Warriors on top with a two-run homer. Jace Hanson tallied two strikeouts in the bottom of the inning to keep the lead with LC.
A home run by Seamons gave the Warriors a 3-0 advantage in the second, and a bases-loaded walk to Rivera added a run in the third.
The Yotes evened the score with a four-run third inning on six hits. Jantzen Lucas came on in relief in the fourth and faced the minimum through his first two innings.
C of I broke the game open with five runs in the sixth to take a 9-4 lead. Five hits, including a three-run blast by Skyler Sadora, were split between Lucas and Eli Shubert.
The Warriors threatened in the seventh after a double by Bulla Ephan and walk to Marquez, but the pair were left on base. Shubert sat the Yotes down in order in the seventh and eighth.
Signorelli sparked the offense in the top of the ninth after being hit by a pitch. Ephan and Marquez tallied back-to-back singles to load the bases, and a walk to Rivera brought in a run. The Warriors left the bases loaded to end the game.
Seamons and Thomas each tallied three hits in the contest and De Sa and Rivera both drive in two.
Lucas was credited with the loss. He struck out three in 2.2 innings and gave up two runs. Hanson allowed three earned in his three innings, and Shubert gave up three in 2.1 innings.
UP NEXT
The series with C of I concludes on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT.
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