EUGENE, Ore. – The comeback fell just short for LC State Baseball in the 2023 Cascade Conference Baseball Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, with a loss to top-seeded Oregon Tech. After six long days, three different locations and numerous schedule changes due to weather, the Owls topped the Warriors 5-4 on Tuesday.
The loss drops LC State to 30-16 heading into the national tournament.
Pitching miscues in the bottom of the second did all the damage OIT needed. Free passes loaded the bases before a base hit and grand slam made it 5-0 Owls.
Joe Ball came out of the bullpen to shut down the OIT offense through the next 3.1 innings.
Charlie Updegrave put LC State on the board in the top of the fourth. Sam Olsson drew a leadoff walk to set the stage for Updegrave’s two-run blast, and Isaiah Thomas followed with a triple. Dominic Signorelli lined out to center field for a sacrifice fly to plate Thomas and bring LC within two.
Cameron Smith was handed the ball in the final three innings and did not surrender a hit, but a solo shot by Thomas in the top of the ninth brought LC as close as it would get at 5-4.
Ball and Smith combined for a scoreless 6.1 innings with no walks and five strikeouts. Updegrave and Thomas each went 2-for-4 in the contest. Updegrave drove in two runs and Thomas scored twice.
