LEWISTON, Idaho – (Release from LC State College Athletics) Senior bullpen arms Greg Blackman and Alec Holmes got the job done for the Warriors to help ninth-seeded LC State eliminate eighth-seeded Taylor (Ind.) from the Series on Tuesday. A grand slam by Dominic Signorelli lifted the offense in the 8-3 victory.
The results of the final two games of the day will determine who LC State will play on Wednesday.
TJ Bass put the Trojans on top with a two-run shot in the first frame. Blackman was called out of the bullpen with one out and struck out back-to-back batters to limit the damage.
Taylor errors got a Warrior rally going in the home half of the inning. Nick Seamons singled up the middle and went all the way around to third on a botched pickoff attempt. Another error put Sam Olsson on and plated Seamons. Charlie Updegrave and Isaiah Thomas notched base hits to load the bases for a Signorelli grand slam to put the Warriors up 5-2 through one.
A pair of punchouts by Blackman got LC out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the second and a double paly ended the top of the fourth after a Taylor run came in.
The Warriors answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Olsson walked and was lifted for courtesy runner Isaac Haws. A single by Updegrave moved Haws to third and sacrifice fly by Thomas made it 6-3 in favor of LC State.
Holmes came out of the bullpen with a runner on and two outs in the sixth and was efficient, needing just one pitch to end the inning on a lineout.
Pu’ukani De Sa opened the home half of the frame with a single to left center and Jordan Justice took over on the bases. A base hit by Justin Marquez moved him to second and a walk to Carter Booth loaded the bases. Seamons made it a 7-3 advantage with a sacrifice fly.
The Warriors worked a 1-2-3 seventh with two strikeouts by Holmes. He faced in the minimum in the eighth with the help of a 5-4-3 double play.
Holmes worked around runners on the corners with two outs to secure the victory for LC State. He earned the save with 3.1 innings on the mound, and Blackman was awarded the win after striking out five in 5.1 innings. The pair combined to allow just four hits in 8.2 innings.
Updegrave, Thomas and Marquez each tallied two hits while Signorelli drove in four with his grand slam.
The Warriors will have to wait until the conclusion of Tuesday’s games to find out their next opponent.
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