SALEM, Ore. – The No. 7 LC State Baseball offense wasted little time demonstrating who the better Warrior team was on Friday with a doubleheader sweep of Corban to open Cascade Conference play. A 16-run first two innings was more than enough in the 21-3 game-one victory, and LC State pitching dominated in game two’s 5-3 win.
“Excellent starts today for Drake (George) and Shane (Spencer),” Head Coach Jake Taylor said. “The bullpen was sharp all day as well. We have a quick turnaround for another doubleheader tomorrow and we will need to be ready to go.”
The first win of the day was No. 200 for Jake Taylor in his career and the sweep improved the LC State record to 12-6 overall. The LC State Warriors are 2-0 in CCC play.
GAME ONE: No. 7 LC State def. Corban 21-3 (7 innings)
Carter Booth worked quickly with a leadoff double before scoring on an error on a ball hit by Nick Seamons. Back-to-back walks produced another LC State run, and Pu’ukani De Sa drove in two with a single through the right side.
A base hit by Leo Rivera loaded the bases once again and Booth singled to drive in two more. The visiting Warriors led 7-0 after the first half inning.
LC Starter Drake George struck out two in the first inning, but a pair of hits plated a run for Corban to cut into the lead at 7-1 after the first full frame.
Jake Gish started the second inning off with a bang on a solo shot to right field. Walks to Dominic Signorelli, Brandon Cabrera and De Sa loaded the bases with no outs to force Corban to its bullpen. Jack Sheward and Rivera tallied back-to-back singles to plate three and make it 11-1.
LC State blew the game wide open as the inning continued. A fielder’s choice put Booth on, Seamons doubled to knock in one and Charlie Updegrave walked to load the bases. Gish clobbered his second home run of the inning, this time a grand slam, for a commanding 16-1 lead in the second frame.
With the two home runs in the second, Gish became the fifth Warrior in program history to hit two in the same inning.
Drake George worked a 1-2-3 home half of the second to send LC State back to the plate. Corban tallied a run in both the fourth and fifth innings before the Warriors added to the lead in the sixth.
An error put Noah Weintraub on base before De Sa walked to put two on. Jack Sheward hit his first home run of the season, a three-run shot, to make it 19-3. Another Corban errors put Evan Overmars on. He advanced on a double by Booth and scored on an RBI-groundout by Seamons. A double by Updegrave pushed the LC State advantage to 21-3.
Tucker Grote took over on the mound for the final two innings and struck out three in his outing. Drake George earned the win after striking out five in five innings. LC State did not walk a batter in the seven innings.
Booth led LC with three hit and Gish drove in five with his home runs. Signorelli and De Sa each walked three times.
GAME TWO: No. 7 LC State def. Corban 5-3
Game two of the day got off to a slower start with both teams held scoreless through the first two frames. Shane Spencer struck out the side in both innings before LC State took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third.
Booth took first on a hit-by-pitch and stole second before taking third on a base hit by Updegrave. Gish continued his strong day at the plate with a two-RBI double before coming around on a two-run homer by Signorelli to make it 4-0.
Three hits and an LC State error plated three Corban runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a one-run game.
LC State added an insurance run in the top of the fifth. Updegrave tripled down the right field line and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gish, his eighth RBI of the day. Spencer fanned two in the fifth and struck out the side in order in the sixth. He added two more punchouts in the seventh before turning the ball over to Jantzen Lucas in the eighth. The junior tallied two strikeouts in the eighth.
Cameron Smith was given the ball with two outs in the ninth and struck out the lone batter he faced to end the game. He earned the save and Spencer earned his second win after striking out 13 in seven innings. Only one of the runs he allowed was earned. Warrior pitching walked one batter on the day.
Updegrave and Signorelli each had two hits and Gish drove in three runs.
UP NEXT
The LC State Warriors wrap up the CCC series with the Corban Warriors in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at Volcanoes Stadium.
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