PORTLAND, Ore.—Concordia grabbed its first lead in the seventh inning to steal the opener 5-4 while No.16 ranked Lewis-Clark State used a ninth-inning grand slam to pull away for an 8-4 win in the nightcap in NAIA West Region baseball action played at Joe Etzel Field on Saturday.

 

With the results, Concordia moved to 8-19 on the season and 3-12 in NAIA West Region action while LCSC will enter Sunday’s series finale with a 19-7 mark and 9-6 record in league play. The Cavaliers are 3-6 against LC State this season. Opening pitch for the fourth and final game of the series is set for noon at Joe Etzel Field on the campus of the University of Portland.

 

 

Trailing 4-2 in the seventh, Sean Myrom, in just his third outing back after missing eight starts, blasted a 3-run home run over the left-field fence to give Concordia its first lead of the day.

 

After opening up the frame with a strikeout, Odie Hollingshed reached via a walk and quickly moved to third on a single to right by Riley Tubbs. In the next at bat with Tubbs taking off for second, a passed ball allowed Hollingshed to score from 90 feet away while Tubbs’ momentum allowed the senior to sneak to third on the play.

 

The extra base however, proved to be unnecessary as Myrom’s shot followed to give CU the 5-4 lead.

 

Pitching with the lead, Larsen Kohler allowed one hit over the final two stanzas to pick up the win. The outing wasn’t without a little drama as the Warriors placed runners at first and second with one out in the ninth with junior third baseman Trent Bridges at the plate.   

 

After reaching base in all three at bats, Bridges drove a ball to center field for the productive second out as Kevin Lovelace advanced to third on the play. A stolen base from Cody Weiss, who reached after being hit by a pinch, gave the Warriors the go-ahead run at second, but Kohler was able to force Brian Gaylord, LCSC’s RBI leader to fly out to right to end the game.

 

Concordia outhit LC State 8 to 5 with Tubbs leading the way after going 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI. Lovelace was the lone Warrior with multiple hits, picking up a single in the first and a double in the seventh en route to scoring a pair of runs.

 

Mitch Lutdke earned the win for the Cavaliers after pitching the first seven innings. Lutdke allowed four runs, three of which were earned, on four hits while striking out five and walking five batters.

 

Paul Anaya took the loss after allowing the home run in the seventh before closing out the seventh with a fly out for his lone retired batter. Cody Fassold started for the Warriors and allowed just two runs on five hits in 5.2 innings of work.

 

 

 

The Warriors connected on a home run on their first at bat and hit a grand slam in one of its final plate appearances to defeat Concordia 8-4 in the nightcap.

 

Lovelace, picking up where he left off in the opener, initiated the game by clocking a home run to left field on the game’s first pitch. The Warriors would plate an additional run in the first inning on an RBI single from Braxton Miller to grab the early 2-0 lead.

 

After the Warriors went up 3-0 in the top of the third with another RBI single from Miller, Concordia got on the board with an RBI single from Myrom in the home half of the frame to score Mike Dickman, who originally reached base via a walk.

 

Following a scoreless fourth, a leadoff double from Bridges turned into a LC State run with the aid of a single by Gino Casino and a passed ball for a 4-1 advantage, but the Cavaliers rallied in the bottom of the fifth with three unearned runs to square the contest.

 

Ben Talbot opened the inning with a single to right and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Dickman. Due to an error, both players would be safe on the play as a throwing attempting to get the lead runner sailed into center field.

 

With one out, Tubbs belted a double off the left-field wall to score pinch runner Odie Hollingshed to make it a 4-2 deficit. After intentionally walking Myrom to load the bases, Jon Houts earned an RBI after drawing a walk to score Dickman. In the next at bat, a called balk allowed Tubbs to cross the plate for the game-tying score.

 

CU starter Josh Saio went on to take the mound at the start of the ninth inning where he was relieved after bridges smashed a lead-off double to left center. An error and a walk in the next two at bats with CU reliever Steven Taft in the game gave the Warriors bases loaded without an out to setup Brian Gaylord in a pinch hitting situation. After flying out to end the opening game, Gaylord made amends with a dart over the right field fence for his second grand slam of the season.

 

Now protected with a 4-run lead, Austin Pentacost picked up the win after hurling the final four innings for the Warriors. Pentacost struck out four while allowing just two hits over the appearance.

 

LCSC outhit Concordia 13-6, and stole a season-high four bases in game two. Bridges went 3 for 5 at the place and was followed by Lovelace, Miller and Bryan Abrey with two hits each.

 

Myrom and Talbot each posted 2-hit games for the Cavaliers.