LC wins battle of the Warriors in Sacramento, 11-5
Zachary Shore, LCSC
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With 16 hits including seven for extra bases, the second-ranked Lewis-Clark State College baseball team mashed their way to an 11-5 victory over William Jessup University at American River College on Thursday night.
Playing their fourth game in three days and ninth of a season-long 13-game road trip, LC State looked no worse for wear in improving to 26-5 on the season while WJU is now 3-24.
LCSC won the battle of the Warriors as William Jessup used eight pitchers in the contest, the second most ever used in a game against Lewis-Clark State while LC used four pitchers in the win.
The night was dominated by the offense as the two teams combined for 16 runs on 29 hits with the LC Warriors scoring in five of the nine innings. LC State plated a single run in the first, two each in the second and sixth and three in both the fifth and ninth innings for the win.
Nine different Warriors collected a hit led by Jacob Zanon (JR/Beaverton, Ore.) and Hayden Meier (JR/Sammamish, Wash.) who each had three with Zanon adding a game-high three RBI and three runs scored. Cabe Reiten (SR/Spanaway, Wash.), J.J. Robinson (JR/Colfax, Wash.) and Logan Griffin (JR/Apple Valley, Calif.) each tallied a pair of hits and each scored a run with the latter two also driving in one each.
Zanon was responsible for the first three runs of the game. He got the offense started with a leadoff double in the first, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by Robert Smith Jr. (SR/Fremont, Calif.) Then in the second, he drove a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall for a two-out, 2-run home run and a 3-0 lead.
William Jessup cut into the lead in the second with a pair of singles and a wild pitch.
After being held to just one hit over the next two innings, LC broke out in the fifth with three runs on three hits and a WJU error. Robinson provided some fireworks with a one-out solo home run then a single and a walk put runners on the corners for Meier. He delivered with a single to center, plating Griffin and Micah Brown (SO/Medord, Ore.), who scored from first on the error.
Back-to-back singles by Zanon and Reiten, a balk and a Smith Jr. double accounted for the LC tallies in the sixth while WJU used four hits and a failed double play to plate two of their own in the bottom of the frame.
A pair of singles and a stolen base led to the home team's fourth run in the seventh.
In the ninth, the Warriors added some insurance as Tyler McDowell (SO/Puyallup, Wash.) deposited the first pitch of the inning over the centerfield wall for a 9-4 lead. Brown then reached on an error, Meier singled, Griffin doubled in Brown and Zanon plated Meier with a sacrifice fly for the 11th run.
A leadoff double for WJU came around to score a meaningless ninth inning tally for the final margin.
Tyler Burch (FR/East Wenatchee, Wash.) got the start and a no decision as he went just four innings, allowing one run on four hits with three walks and a strikeout. Bryce Jackson (SR/Kennewick, Wash.) earned his first win of the season as he tossed two innings allowing two runs on four hits. Anthony Balderas (JR/Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) struck out two batters and allowed a run on two hits in his lone inning of work while Daulton Blackwell (JR/Fruitland, Idaho) tossed the final two innings and allowed a run on three hits with three Ks.
The Warriors wrap up their road trip with a four-game weekend series against Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore. The NAIA West series features a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday, Apr. 2 and Sunday, Apr. 3 with first pitch at 12 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively.
Live stats of the weekend series are available
here with live audio provided by 950 AM KOZE or online at
www.koze-sports.com.