SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 24 Lewis-Clark State Baseball team made a statement in the 2021 season opener when it upended the No. 13 Westmont Warriors 13-2. There was no lack of offense for LC State as the Warriors in red and navy tallied two runs in the first and third, then added five in the fifth and four in the seventh in the rout. Riley Way and Jack Johnson both had three hits in the contest.
“It felt great to be out there with the boys again,” Way said. “It’s been 11 months since we’ve played an opposing team and you could tell pre-pitch we were hungry.”
The Warriors had stellar pitching from starter Tallon Thomason. The senior struck out four in his LC State debut, and relievers Jesse Parker and Greg Blackman struck out a combined six to close out the game.
Way got the season started with a single up the middle, and walks to Aidan Nagle and Johnson loaded the bases for the Warriors. Two wild pitches in the inning brought in a pair to give LC State an early 2-0 lead.
Westmont answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the first off starter Thomason, but the transfer from UNLV settled in to keep LC in front 2-1 through the first two innings.
Johnson put two more runs on the board in the second as he grew his hitting streak to 21 games, now tied for 10
th-best in Warrior history, with a massive shot over the wall in left. A runner on first made it a two-run shot and increased the Warriors’ lead to 4-1. Thomason struck out a pair in the home half of the third to retire Westmont in order.
The Westmont club rallied in the bottom of the fourth with two hits and to add on a run, but another strikeout from Thomason ended the threat and got LC out of a bases-loaded jam.
The Warriors’ fifth run of the game came off the bat of Nagle with a home run down the left field line. The junior from Santa Rosa scored three of the first five LC runs, with Johnson scoring other two.
The offensive outburst continued after both Johnson and Brock Ephan reached on hit-by-pitches. Sam Linscott walked to load the bases and an RBI single by Zach Needham plated one. A walk to Matt James brought in Ephan before Dalton Harum’s first knock of the season put LC State in front 9-2 to cap the five-run inning.
Parker took over on the mound in the bottom of the fifth and struck out a pair in his first inning of 2021.
LC State added another four in the top of the seventh with the help of Harum and Way. Linscott and Needham reached on pitching miscues, and both came around to score on a triple to the gap in right center by Harum. A big fly to right center by Way made it a 13-2 game in favor of LC State.
East Carolina transfer James made his presence known behind the plate when he cut down a runner trying to take second to end a Westmont threat in the seventh. Blackman was given the ball in the bottom of the eighth and struck out a pair before sitting Westmont down in order to end the game.
Way and Johnson highlighted the offense with three hits each. Johnson was 3-for-4 on the day with three runs scored and two RBI, while Way went 3-for-6 with a run scored and two runs knocked in. Harum had two hits and Nagle, Linscott and Needham all scored at least twice.
“It felt good to get out there and play against another team after scrimmaging against each other all year,” Johnson said. “There was a lot of good energy and excitement in the dugout which made it easy to relax and enjoy opening day.”
Thomason recorded his first win as a Warrior after going four innings and striking out four. He did not walk a batter. Parker ended his day after three innings with three punchouts, and Blackman struck out three in his two innings. He did not allow a hit or walk a batter.
LC State is back in action tomorrow with a doubleheader at No. 23 Hope International. Game one is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in Fullerton, Calif.