Jesse Dodd went 4-for-5 in Coyote win
LEWISTON, Idaho - Jesse Dodd went 4-for-5 and Jarel Lewis added a three-run home run, as The College of Idaho hung on for a 10-9 victory over No. 13 ranked Lewis-Clark State, in an NAIA West match-up at Harris Field.
The Coyotes (18-6, 4-1 NAIA West) built an 8-4 lead after four innings, but had to hang on in the ninth – as L-C brought the tying run to the play, but Todd Griffiths coaxed Billy Silvestri to ground out to second to end the game.
The C of I jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, as Lewis hit an opposite field three-run shot, his team-leading fourth homer of the season. The lead was short-lived, as the Warriors (18-6, 9-3) got two-run homers from Alfonso Casillas and Kyle Knigge in the bottom of the frame, grabbing a 4-3 edge.
Izaac Garsez gave the Yotes the lead back in the second with a two-run triple, with The C of I extending the lead to 7-4 in the third – thanks to a pair of unearned runs. Dodd made it 8-4 in the fourth, lining an RBI single up the middle.
L-C would chip away, getting a Trent Bridges RBI single in the fifth and a Braxton Miller homer in the sixth to make it 8-6. After the Yotes tacked on a run in the seventh on a Jeffrey Harris sacrifice fly, the Warriors got a Bridges RBI triple and a Casillas sacrifice fly to get within 9-8, but freshman reliever Parker Vernon struck out Knigge to end the threat with the tying run at second.
The Coyotes would get a key insurance run in the ninth on a fielding error, as the Warriors manufactured a run in the ninth – but Griffiths got the final out to notch his first save.
Chad Yeggy gutted through six innings to pick up his fifth win of the season, while Vernon fanned two in two innings of solid relief. Garsez and Zach Fabricius each had two hits in the win.
Bridges went 4-for-5 for the Warriors, who had 13 hits on the night – but committed four errors. Anthony Armanino lasted just three innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits, but fanned seven batters.
The two teams meet in a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon, beginning at 1 p.m. (PT)