Griffin delivers walk-off double for series sweep
Griffin, Warriors walk-off on Coyotes for series sweep
Zachary Shore, LCSC
LEWISTON, Idaho –Logan Griffin (JR/Apple Valley, Calif.) delivered the fireworks with a two-out, walk-off double to right centerfield to send the second-ranked Lewis-Clark State College baseball team to a 10-9 win and NAIA West series sweep over the College of Idaho on Sunday afternoon at Harris Field.
The walk-off win is the 13th for the Warriors over the Coyotes and 11th at Harris Field. It's the first walk-off win for LC since a Robert Smith Jr. (SR/Fremont, Calif.) pinch-hit single against British Columbia on April 25, 2015 and first against the Yotes since Mar. 2, 2010, on a Gino Casini walk.
In a game in which the teams combined for 19 runs, 23 hits and five errors with two ties and three lead changes, it was LC State that got the last laugh on the Griffin double.
The Coyotes got off to a fast start against LC State starter Connor Brodgon, scoring five runs on three hits and an error in the second inning. A single, two walks and a two-run double ended his day and Anthony Balderas (JR/Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) was called on in relief and saw two runs score without a ball leaving the infield before a double plated the fifth run.
Lewis-Clark State got a pair back in the bottom of the inning as Julian Ramon (SR/Oxnard, Calif.) and Griffin each singled before Gunnar Buhner (JR/Issaquah, Wash.) doubled them both home.
A walk, single and a throwing error by the Warriors added to the Yotes lead, but the Warriors answered with a four run fourth to tie the game at six.
Again it was Ramon and Griffin that got the inning started as the former doubled to left and the latter singled. Buhner followed by another double, scoring Andris Rizquez (SR/Caracas, Venezuela) who ran for Ramon. Chase Hafer (SR/Meridian, Idaho) followed with an RBI single to left and then stole second with an errant throw plating Buhner. A wild pitch allowed Hafer to reach third, with another poor throw from the catcher allowed him to tie the game.
LCSC went ahead in the fifth as J.J. Robinson (JR/Colfax, Wash.) walked, moved up 90-feet on a passed ball, reached third on a Ramon single and scored on a failed double play off the bat of Griffin.
In the sixth, Buhner and Hafer hit back-to-back singles and Jacob Zanon (JR/Beaverton, Ore.) delivered a two-out RBI single to put LC up two, 8-6.
Mitch Skaggs homered with one out in the seventh and the Yotes plated two more in the eighth for the 9-8 lead. Jake Hennessey doubled in the eighth and Jake Bowman singled with two outs to tie the game and Hunter Hanson followed with a double to right for the lead.
A two-base throwing error by the Yotes' third baseman put Zanon on second to lead off the inning and Robinson followed with a single up the middle to tie the game at 9. After a pair of fly outs, Griffin took the first pitch he saw to right center for the game-winning RBI double, plating Rizquez.
Gunnar Swanson (SR/Duvall, Wash.) earned his first win of the season with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one walk with one strikeout.
Ramon, Griffin and Buhner each tallied three hits to lead the Warriors 14-hit attack. Buhner and Griffin also each scored twice and combined for five of LC's eight RBI.
With their ninth straight win, LCSC improved to 34-5 overall and 20-3 in the NAIA West, five games better than second-place British Columbia and 5.5 ahead of the Coyotes who fall to 27-14 overall and 15-9 in conference play.
LC State will step out of conference play on Wednesday, Apr. 13 as they head to Ellensburg, Wash. to face Central Washington before returning to Harris Field for a four-game NAIA West series with British Columbia beginning on Friday, Apr. 15 at 5 p.m.