C of I wins fourth-straight CCC title
C of I Sweeps Corban, Clinches CCC Baseball Pennant
CALDWELL, Idaho -- Alex O'Brien's walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth capped a wild opener and Pat Lyon tossed a two-hitter in the nightcap, as The College of Idaho clinched its fourth-straight Cascade Conference baseball title with 8-7 and 4-2 victories over Corban College at Simplot Stadium.
The wins for the Yotes (22-22, 14-6 Region I), coupled with a 4-3 loss by Concordia to Oregon Tech , gives The C of I the league crown. On the regional front, the Coyotes pulled within a game and a half of British Columbia - with UBC coming to town for a crucial four-game series next weekend. It also marked the first home games for the Yotes in 38 days.
Game 1 was a see-saw affair, as the Yotes scored three in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings, then won it in the ninth. Leading 2-1 in the sixth, the Warriors (9-27, 6-14) used a Josh Warner suicide squeeze to score the tying run, then took the lead on a Kyle Taylor RBI single. The Yotes would come right back, getting a Matt Mejia two-run single to take a 4-3.
Closer Jason Barry would get the first two outs in the seventh, but Corban opened the floodgates, as seven straight batters reached base - three on singles, three on walks, and a hits batsman of Cameron Meier with the bases loaded to give the visitors the lead - a margin that would grow to 7-4. However, the Yotes came right back, getting an RBI infield single by Jake Miller and a Richie Snider sacrifice fly to make it 7-6. With the tying run at third, reliever Jason Braun coaxed a game-ending grounder to third, but Nate Hiebert's throw was wide, allowing the tying run to score to send the game to extra innings.
In the ninth, Miller reached on an infield single and with one out, moved to second on a Cody Brubaker base hit. O'Brien then followed with a liner through the rightside, nearly clipping Brubaker, with Miller scoring the game winner.
Andrew Brock tossed two scoreless innings of relief to get the win, with Braun taking the loss. Brubaker went 3-for-5, with Miller, Mejia, O'Brien, and Bryan Champ all recording two hits. Taylor and Daniel Flores had two hits for Corban.
Game 2 was dominated by Lyon, who went the distance, allowing two unearned runs on a pair of hits, registering three strikeouts without a walk.
The Yotes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, as Brubaker launched a two-run triple to right-center and O'Brien followed with an RBI single. Corban got one back in the second on a Taylor sacrifice fly, but The C of I added a run in the third on a Snider RBI double. The inning could have been much worse for the Warriors, but they recorded a rare triple play, as O'Brien lined a ball to first with the runners in motion, with Taylor touching the bag for the second out, and tossing to second for the third.
Brubaker, Miller, and Jacob Garsez each had two hits for the Yotes, with Champ recording a knock, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Derek Stokes went the distance for Corban in the loss, allowing four runs on nine hits.
The two teams close out the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.