News

Oregon Tech Drops NAIA West Doubleheader at Lewis-Clark State

03.15.2013

LEWISTON, Idaho. – Lewis-Clark State scored all the run support they needed in the first inning of game 1, and pounded out 17 hits in the nightcap to take a pair of NAIA West baseball games over Oregon Tech, 13-3 and 8-2.

Oregon Tech falls to 8-17 overall and 1-5 in NAIA West action. Meanwhile, No. 8 LC State improved to 18-5 on the season and 8-2 the NAIA West standings.

Game 1 – Tech’s Tyson Dahl earned a walk to open the doubleheader with Alex Reynolds following with the game’s first hit, a single. Dylan Rogers’ fielder’s choice moved Dahl to third with Reynolds being forced out at second. Ryan Hayden’s sacrifice bunt scored Dahl as the Owls came away with the single run in their first at bat.

LC State, however, notched six runs in their first try to take a 6-1 advantage in the opener. The Warriors used five hits, including three walks and a pair of wild pitches to score six earned runs off Tech starter Talon Sisley.

The Owls continued to put pressure on the eighth-ranked Warriors, pushing across two runs in the second inning to trail 6-3. After a walk, two-out singles from Jared Nelson and Dahl loaded the bases. A L-C State fielding error scored Reynolds, while a Rogers walk plated Nelson. A strikeout ended the Tech threat in the inning.

The Warriors used a bases loaded single to secure three runs in the third to go up 9-3.

Tech held the Warriors scoreless over the next five innings before the home team tacked on four runs on five hits in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Tech failed to plate a run over the next seven innings, falling in game 1 to L-C State by a 13-3 final.

Dahl and Nelson recorded two hits each, along with a run, for the Owls, with Rogers and Hayden adding a RBI each. Alex Reynolds, Rogers, Ethan Schlecht and Tyler Conklin finished with one hit each in the game. Talon Sisley fell to 1-3 on the season going 3.2 innings, while Darian Benanua tossed the final 4.1 innings in relief work.

Game 2 - Just like the opener, the Owls scored a single run in their first at bat of the nightcap. After a pair of one-out singles and a walk to load the bases, Tech’s Aaron Bocchi lifted a long fly ball to left field to score Alex Reynolds, who earlier singled, to open the scoring. Tech led 1-0 with the Warriors coming to bat in their half.

LC-State plated a single run in their first at-bat with the Owls taking a 2-1 lead after another run in the top of the third inning. Alex Reynolds singled up the middle with one out, followed by a two-out double by Ryan Hayden to give the Owls the lead.

The lead would be short-lived as the Warriors notched a pair of runs in the third and three more in the fourth to take a 6-2 advantage. The Owls would go scoreless over the next six innings, while the home team added a run in each of the seventh and eighth inning to win 8-2.

Reynolds led Tech with two hits in the nightcap with Hayden, Rogers, Bocchi, Kevin Shulemson, Spencer Reed and Nelson adding one hit each. Craig Kathol went 5.2 innings giving up 14 hits and six earned runs falling to 1-5 on the season. Raf Belloc finished the final 2.1 innings allowing three hits and striking out two.

The teams conclude the four-game NAIA West series with a doubleheader beginning tomorrow at noon.