(Lewiston, ID) The No. 7 Warrior Baseball team shook off the rust quickly with a 13-2 victory in its season opener over Ave Maria (Fla.). LC State tallied 13 runs on 15 hits to back up strong outings on the mound by Evan Canfield and Jackson Cloud.
Ike George and Charlie Updegrave provided the power at the plate with a combined six hits and six RBI. Warrior pitching allowed only one earned run and Cloud did not allow a hit in his relief outing.
“Great all-around start today for the Warriors,” coach Jake Taylor said. “Evan and Jackson competed in their first outing and held down Ave Maria until our offense really got going in the fourth. It was a team win with plenty of contributions on the offensive and defensive sides of things.”
The Warriors matched the run output and doubled their hit total from the 2024 season opener. LC State defeated Tennessee Wesleyan 13-7 with seven hits to open the schedule a year ago.
HOW IT HAPPENED
George tallied the first Warrior hit of the season with a single to center field and scored the first run of the season on a base hit by Dominic Signorelli.
Miscues by the LC State defense led to a pair of runs, but a throw by right fielder Noah Weintraub cut down a runner on the base paths to keep the deficit at one. Bruer Webster, Izzy Madariaga and Abe Affholter combined for an inning-ending double play.
Canfield recorded his first strikeout in a Warrior uniform in the second inning and worked around traffic on the bases to keep the score within one.
An error in the top of the fourth put Signorelli on base before another error on a ball hit by Affholter put runners on the corners. Updegrave singled to right to tie the game. Weintraub walked and Bulla Ephan put the Warriors on top with a two-RBI single before George broke the game wide open. The senior stepped to the plate with two on and two outs and blasted a shot to right to give LC State a 7-2 advantage.
Canfield fanned two as part of a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth, then struck out one and started a double play to end the fifth.
Jackson Cloud came out of the Warrior bullpen in the sixth and a double play helped the Warrior defense through the frame.
Updegrave added to the LC State lead in the seventh with a two-run blast. Signorelli walked to lead off the inning and scored on the shot to right.
Cloud picked a runner off of first to erase a free pass in the home half of the eighth inning. A lineout to Signorelli at third turned into the fourth double play of the contest for the Warrior defense.
Back-to-back singles by Weintraub and Madariaga put two on for LC State in the top of the ninth and a pinch-hit double by Jack Sheward plated the pair. Spencer Zeller took over on the bases and scored on a sacrifice fly by Webster after advancing on a hit by George. Signorelli made it 13-2 with an RBI-single to center.
Cloud worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close the contest and earn a four-inning save.
STAT RECAP
Canfield earned the win in his first start as a Warrior after tossing five innings. He struck out four and allowed one earned run. Cloud earned the save after going four frames without allowing a hit.
George and Updegrave led the offense with three hits and three RBI each. Both homered in the contest and scored two runs. Signorelli also tallied three hits while Signorelli, Ephan and Sheward drove in two runs each. Weintraub tallied went 2-for-3 and stole a bag.
UP NEXT
The Warriors continue the East/West Challenge on Friday with two contests. LC State takes on St. Thomas (Fla.) at 7 a.m. PT and No. 11 Southeastern (Fla.) at 3 p.m. PT. KOZE will carry the STU game and there will not be a live stream. KOZE will have the SEU contest until the start of the LC State Women’s Basketball game at 5 p.m. PT but there will be a live stream.