Lewis-Clark State held to four hits in conference loss to Thunderbirds
Zachary Shore, LCSC
VANCOUVER, British Columbia. – The top-ranked Lewis Clark State College baseball team tallied just four hits in a 12-1 loss to British Columbia at the baseball field in Thunderbird Park on Friday.
It was game one of a three-game NAIA West series and the Warriors couldn't solve UBC right-hander Alex Webb in falling to 14-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play. The win moves the Thunderbirds to 20-7 on the season and 6-1 in NAIA west play.
The loss is the first for LC in the last six meetings with British Columbia and the first north of the border since an 8-2 loss on March 12, 2011. It's also the most runs LCSC has allowed to UBC since a 16-1 loss on Apr. 26, 2013.
Cabe Reiten (SR/Spanaway, Wash.) got things started for the Warriors in the first inning, singling to left field and advancing to third with just one out. LCSC couldn't get him home as Webb got out of the inning with strikeout and a groundout.
Kevin Hamann (JR/Bend, Ore.) got the start for the Warriors and had his first rough outing of the season as the Thunderbirds plated four runs on six hits in the opening frame. Hamann forced the leadoff hitter to ground out, but six consecutive hits gave the home team the lead.
Lewis-Clark State put the leadoff man on again in the second in
Gunnar Buhner (JR/Issaquah, Wash.) and he found his way to third, but the Warriors failed to score for a second time. In the bottom of the second, a pair of walks and a one out single ended the day for Hamann as LC went down, 5-0.
LC State pushed across a run in the third as Reiten singled to begin the frame and scored on
Robert Smith Jr. (SR/Fremont, Calif.)'s RBI triple to left. The Warriors missed a chance to add on as the next two batters struck out before a fly out ended the inning.
Matthew Fish (JR/Kalamazoo, Mich.) ran into trouble in the bottom of the third as a leadoff double scored two batters later on a Kyle McComb single and Anthony Olson tripled in another run to make it a 7-1 game. Fish settled in though and cruised through the middle innings, before hitting a snag in the sixth.
A pair of walks and a base hit loaded the bases with two outs and John Whaley cleared the bases with a triple to center, ending the day for Fish.
David Wilson (SR/Yorba Linda, Calif.) came on in relief and induced a groundout but a Warrior error kept the inning alive and another triple made it 12-1.
LCSC got a leadoff walk in the seventh, but couldn't do anything else against Webb who improved to 7-0.
Reiten led the Warriors offense with two of the team's four hits. The trio of pitchers combined to allow 12 runs, 10 earned on 14 hits while walking five and striking out five.
Game two of the series will take place tomorrow, March 12 with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. PST. Live stats are available
here with live audio provide by
KOZE-Sports.