Oregon Tech suffered a pair of losses as College of Idaho swept the Owls today in NAIA West baseball action. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
College of Idaho Takes Two from Oregon Tech
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Zach Draper tossed a complete-game shutout in the opener, while Oregon Tech saw a three-run lead disappear in the nightcap, as the Owls dropped a NAIA West baseball doubleheader to College of Idaho, 2-0 and 15-11, this afternoon at Kiger Stadium.
Oregon Tech falls to 15-30 overall and 6-20 in NAIA West action. C of I ran their overall mark to 30-14 and 17-9 in league play.
Game 1 – (C of I 2 vs OIT 0)
Draper was the factor in the opener, allowing five Tech hits while striking out nine in the complete-game performance. Draper improved to 9-3 on the season.
For the Owls, Kai Fong and Ryan Grant doubled with Danny Topps, Michael Kilpatrick and Loren Cutolo adding singles in the loss. Tyler Bennett went nine strong innings but suffered the loss. Bennett scatted seven hits and struck out six.
Jake Bowman’s RBI single in the second inning was all the run support the Yotes would need. Dalton Ridgway’s two-out triple scoring Cole Mansanarez in the second made it 2-0 with the game ending by the same margin.
Ridgway provided a double and triple in the win.
Game 2 – (C of I 15 vs OIT 11)
Tech held a 10-7 lead late in the nightcap, but a pair of four-run innings by C of I led to a 15-11 loss for the Owls.
Trailing 7-4, Tech scored six runs in the seventh to take a three-run lead, 10-7. Kilpatrick highlighted the frame with a bases loaded triple. Ryan Grant, Matthew Moorehead and McKinnon Bennett added a RBI each in the inning.
Tech, however, saw C of I tally four runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings for the comeback 15-11 win.
For Tech Matthew Moorehead finished 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Kilpatrick drove in three runs on his seventh inning triple with Grant, Topps and Fong coming away with two hits each in the loss.
For C of I Mitch Skaggs drove in four runs on a 4-for-5 effort at the plate, including a first inning solo homerun. Mansanarez recorded three hits with Jake Hennessey adding a pair of doubles and Johnny Hyland two hits with a double. Bobby Wright tossed the final two innings and earned the win.
Oregon Tech and College of Idaho will conclude their four-game NAIA West Series tomorrow with the opening game set to start at 11 a.m.