LEWISTON – The Warrior bats were electric on Saturday in a doubleheader sweep of UBC. LC State totaled 26 runs on the day with wins of 13-8 and 13-7. Warrior Baseball notched 27 hits, with 13 for extra bases, between the two games to improve to 8-3 on the season.
The wins on Saturday clinched the four-game non-conference series victory against the Thunderbirds.
“Great sweep today of an excellent UBC team,” Head Coach Jake Taylor said. “Displayed enough offense throughout the lineup and had some shining moments on the mound as well.”
The brightest moment on the mound came from newcomer Shane Spencer in his LC State debut. The senior tossed 5.1 innings of one-hit baseball and struck out 10 batters in game two.
GAME ONE: No. 3 LC State def. UBC 13-8
Jack Sheward got the momentum going early for LC State with a runner caught stealing in the top of the first. The Warriors wasted little time in the bottom of the frame with four runs for an early lead.
Carter Booth singled and Nick Seamons walked to put two on. Charlie Updegrave drove a base hit through the left side to bring in the first run of the game. Dominic Signorelli stepped to the plate next and smashed a three-run shot off the videoboard in right for a 4-0 advantage.
UBC answered in the next inning with three runs to cut the lead to 4-3. Starter Jace Hanson struck out a batter to end the threat and fanned two more in the third.
Signorelli walked to lead off the bottom of the third. Jake Gish doubled to put both in scoring position and Signorelli scored on a wild pitch. An RBI-groundout by Leo Rivera pushed the margin to 6-3.
LC State struck for four more runs in the fourth frame. Brandon Cabrera singled and took second on a wild pitch and Booth walked before Updegrave made it 9-3 with a three-run shot to right center. Signorelli kept the inning going with a double down the right field line and Sheward singled. A base hit by Rivera drove in a run to make it 10-3.
The Thunderbirds cut into the lead once again with a three-run homer in the top of the sixth. Brady Maylett took over on the mound in relief and induced a double play to end the inning.
Signorelli pushed the advantage to 11-6 with a solo shot, his second home run of the contest, to start the bottom of the sixth. Maylett struck out two more in the seventh and LC State added a run on a double by Booth in the home half of the inning.
The Thunderbirds scored two runs on three hits and an error in the top of the eighth, but a solo home run by Rivera gave the Warriors a five-run cushion at 13-8.
Cameron Smith closed out the game on the mound after working around a one-out single.
Signorelli went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and four RBI, and Rivera also tallied three hits. Updegrave drove in four.
Hanson earned the win on the mound after tossing 5.1 innings with three strikeouts. Maylett fanned two in 1.2 innings.
GAME TWO: No. 3 LC State def. UBC 13-7
Spencer struck out the first batter he faced as a Warrior. Seamons gave the newcomer a lead to work with after a home run in the first. Spencer fanned two more in the second.
The Warriors put up five runs in the bottom of the second. Gish and Pu’ukani De Sa tallied back-to-back singles to start things off and Jakob Marquez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Magnum Hofstetter and Cabrera notched a pair of singles to plate three and Seamons doubled to make it 6-0.
Spencer continued to miss UBC bats with two punchouts in the third and fourth.
A solo shot by Cabrera grew the LC State lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth and back-to-back two-out hits by De Sa and Noah Weintraub made it 8-0 in the fifth.
UBC notched its first hit of the contest with a two-run shot in the top of the sixth. Decker Stedman took over on the mound after that. Spencer ended his day with 100 pitches exactly. He struck out 10 through 5.1 innings of work. Stedman ended the inning with a strikeout.
After a 30-minute weather delay the Warriors went back to work in the bottom of the sixth. Cabrera walked and took second on a wild pitch. Seamons drilled a base hit to center and Updegrave plated Cabrera with a groundout. A balk by the UBC pitcher brought Seamons in to score for the 11-2 lead.
Back-to-back home runs by UBC’s Kaden Zarowny and David Draayers fueled a five-run inning that cut the lead to 11-7.
LC State padded the advantage with a double by Hofstetter and single by Cabrera to push the score to 12-7.
Eli Takalo struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 eighth inning and LC scored a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame. Takalo retired the side in order in the ninth to close the game.
Cabrera and Seamons each had three hits and three RBI to lead LC State in the contest.
Spencer earned a win in his first appearance with LC State. He struck out 10 while Stedman, Kolby Solomon and Takalo combined for four punchouts.
UP NEXT
The Warriors conclude the non-conference series with UBC on Sunday starting at 11 a.m.
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