LEWISTON, ID – Warrior pitching allowed just one run on the day and the LC State offense totaled double-digits in each contest to help No. 24 Warrior Baseball to a pair of run-rule victories on Sunday. The wins of 10-0 (8 innings) and 12-1 (7 innings) over Eastern Oregon showcased the depth of the LC State lineup.
The wins improve the LC State record to 10-7 overall and 7-2 in Cascade Conference play. Only the first game of the twin bill was a CCC contest.
GAME ONE: No. 24 LC State def. EOU 10-0 (8 inn.)
Jack Sheward denied a Mountie throw to second from left to stop the batter from stretching and the Warriors took a 2-0 lead in the home half of the inning.
Dominic Signorelli and Abe Affholter tallied back-to-back singles before a double down the line by Izzy Madariaga knocked in the first run of the game. Bulla Ephan made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.
A double play turned by Madariaga, Anthony Karagiannopoulos and Jakob Marquez got the Warriors out of a jam in the top of the third and Jantzen Lucas worked a 1-2-3 fourth.
LC State added a run in the bottom of the fourth after a double by Bulla Ephan got the offense going. Courtesy runner Spener Zeller scored on an RBI-double off the bat of Ike George for a 3-0 advantage.
The Warrior escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with the help of a strikeout by Lucas and a groundout.
Signorelli drew a walk in the home half of the fifth and took second on a balk. He scored on a base hit by Madariaga to make it 4-0.
Robby Butenschoen took over on the mound and worked a scoreless sixth before LC State got back to work at the plate. George singled up the middle and Sheward was hit by a pitch before a double by Updegrave knocked in a run. An error on a ball hit by Marquez brought in a run for a 6-0 lead.
The Warriors added on in the seventh after Madariaga and Ephan drew back-to-back walks. George singled through the right side to bring in one before a lined shot down the left field line by Zeller knocked in two more for a 9-0 advantage.
Evan Overmars doubled to start the bottom of the eighth and Madariaga drove in the 10th run for LC State to end the contest via the run rule.
STAT RECAP
Madariaga led the Warriors with three hits and three RBI while George tallied three this with two runs batted in.
Lucas earned the win with five innings pitched and four strikeouts. Butenschoen earned his first save of the season after striking out four and allowing just one hit in three innings.
GAME TWO: No. 24 LC State def. EOU 12-1 (7 inn.)
LC State tallied the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. George singled and stole second before scoring with smart base running on a ball hit by Marquez. Joey Estrada struck out two in the second.
The Warriors put up a five spot in the home half of the second. Madariaga singled and an error on a ball hit by Garrett Bevacqua put two on. Another error scored one and a three-run blast by Sheward made it a 6-0 advantage.
Madariaga walked and stole second to start the third. A base hit by Bevacqua moved him to third and a wild pitch made it 7-0. EOU scored its first run of the game in the top of the fifth, but a double play and strikeout ended the inning without more damage.
Jake Green tossed a scoreless fifth and Levi Anderson did the same in the sixth, and the Warriors scored five in the bottom of the sixth. Signorelli and Madariaga were both hit by pitches and back-to-back hits by Bevacqua and Evan Overmars made it a 10-1 advantage.
The inning continued with a walk to John Paul Avila and George was hit by a pitch. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Zeller plated a run and pinch runner Sam Weber scored on a wild pitch to push the score to 12-1.
Zak Sullivan ended the game with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh for the second run-rule game of the day.
STAT RECAP
Sheward drove in three runs and Overmars knocked in two. Bevacqua tallied two hits.
Estrada earned the win in four innings with three strikeouts. Green, Anderson and Sullivan each threw an inning in the contest.
