Brogdon pitches Warriors to series win, first place in NAIA West
Zachary Shore, LCSC
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Connor Brogdon (JR/Madera Ranchos, Calif.) tossed seven shutout innings to pitch the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team to a 5-1 series win over The University of British Columbia at Thunderbird Park on Sunday.
With the victory, the top-ranked Warriors also took hold of first place in the NAIA West, improving to 16-2 overall and 7-2 in the conference. With the loss, UBC falls to 20-9 and 6-3 in the West.
The offense set the tone early as LCSC jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Robert Smith Jr. (SR/Fremont, Calif.) was hit by a pitch and
Jacob Zanon (JR/Beaverton, Ore.) drew a walk before
J.J. Robinson (JR/Colfax, Wash.) picked up where he left off in Saturday's contest, driving home a pair with a double to right field.
Tyler McDowell (SO/Puyallup, Wash.) followed with a single to plate Robinson and gave Brogdon all the run support he needed.
The junior right-hander earned his second win scattering just four hits across his seven innings, striking out seven with no walks. He allowed just two runners to reach second base in the outing and faced just four batters over the minimum.
Zanon, Robinson and McDowell took care of the rest driving in four and scoring four runs while tallyng four of the Warriors five hits in the win.
Lewis-Clark State added the final tallies in the eighth. Zanon started the inning with a leadoff single, stole second and scored on a double from McDowell.
Hayden Meier (JR/Sammamish, Wash.) got in on the action with a two-out double to left, plating McDowell for a 5-0 lead.
Daulton Blackwell (JR/Fruitland, Idaho) relieved Brogdon in the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 frame. He also retired British Columbia in order in the ninth following a leadoff home run, the only tally for the home team.
Zanon finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, Robinson drove in two and scored once and McDowell went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
The Warriors return to Harris Field for their only home series of the month on Friday, March 18 when they host Simpson University. The series is sponsored by Pepsi and Friday night is Pepsi/Alumni night with all LC alumni receiving free entry. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate or by calling the ticket office at 208-792-2471. For those that can't make it, live video, audio and stats are available at lcwarriors.com.