Cavs sweep Yotes for series win

4/13/2014 5:38:00 PM

PORTLAND, Ore.— Allowing just two runs on Sunday, Concordia defeated College of Idaho 12-2 and 2-0 for an NAIA West sweep at Porter Park.

With the results, Concordia clinched a spot in the NAIA West Tournament and improved to 22-18 on the season while evening its NAIA West record to 12-12. The Cavaliers will close out the regular season at Oregon Tech on April 18-19.

College of Idaho (23-17, 14-10 NAIA W.) fell to fourth place in the league standings and will face Menlo College at home next weekend.

Game 1 – Concordia 12, College of Idaho 2 (7 innings)

Loading the bases in each of the first four innings, Concordia scored in six of the seven innings to rout the Coyotes 12-2 in the opening game of an NAIA West doubleheader.

The Cavs struck for two runs in the first inning, one in the second and three in the third before breaking the game open with five more in the fourth.

Blake Drake (Ramona, Calif./Ramona H.S.) led off the bottom of the first with a single to left and after a fly to the outfield, Cole Pittman (Salem, Ore./West Salem H.S.) and Ian Erickson (Astoria, Ore./Astoria H.S.) tagged two more singles off C of I starter Ryan Eddy. Still with just one out, Ryan McMonigle (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Kailua H.S. ) drilled a single over the head of the shortstop to score the first two runs of the contest.

On the mound for the Cavaliers and handed the early lead, Blake Evetts (Tigard, Ore./Jesuit H.S.) (3-2) retired the first six batters he faced, including three with a strikeout to earn his third win of the season.

The Cavs rewarded Evetts with another run in the second inning as the team loaded the bases for the second straight inning, this time getting just one run on a Cole Pittman (Salem, Ore./West Salem H.S.) walk which chased Eddy for reliever Joel Martin. Martin kept the damage to a minimum by retiring McMonigle with a line out to left field.

C of I got one run back in the third on a sacrifice fly to right which scored teammate Seth Champlin, the courtesy runner for catcher Jake Hennessey, who reach after being hit by a pitch. Champlin's run came in the unearned form as an infield throwing error allowed the runner to advance from first to third prior to the sac fly.

Not content with the 3-1 advantage, Concordia batted around the order in both the third and fourth innings to extend its lead. Drake and Christian Lichtenthaler (Albany, Ore./West Albany H.S.) drove in one run each in both game-changing innings.

Hennessey's at bat in the fifth provided the Yotes its second run of the day as the catcher singled to third base to start the inning. Champlin, in a again as a courtesy runner, moved up on a walk and a wild pitch before a single from Mitch Skaggs completed the trip around the basepaths.

Evetts completed 6.0 innings on the mound before turning the ball over to Brad Bearden (Hoodsport, Wash./Shelton H.S.). Evetts struck out six and walked one while Bearden walked two and struck out two in the seventh and final frame.

Concordia outhit the Yotes 14 to 4 with Eddy falling to 3-4 on the year with the loss.

Game 2 – Concordia 2, College of Idaho

Celebrating senior day moments earlier, Jon Yearout (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River H.S.) (5-3) pitched seven shutout innings while Austin Hadley (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen H.S.) closed the door with two innings of two-hit work to give Concordia its sixth shutout of the season despite being outhit 9 to 5.

Evetts fanned five Yotes and scattered seven hits in the outing, only one of which went for extra bases however.

After pounding out 14 hits in the opener, Concordia was limited by C of I starter Markus Lively (2-4), who went the distance for the hard-luck loss.

The Cavs scores one unearned run in the third and added an insurance run in the fifth with heads up baserunning by leftfielder Mike Egami (Moanalua, Hawaii/Moanalua H.S.).

CU's Adam Taylor (San Diego, Calif./The Rock Academy) got things going in the third by reaching on a two-base throwing error and scampered to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior catcher Ben Talbot (Lacey, Wash./Timberline H.S.). Egami, who also came through with a pair of putouts on defense, singled through the left-side of the infield for his 18th RBI of the season.

Turning to the fifth, Egami reached on a two-out walk and alertly charged around the basepaths on a bloop fly to center by Blake Drake (Ramona, Calif./Ramona H.S.). Drake's hit fell just outside the reach of a diving C of I centerfielder Chase Miller. Collecting the ball and getting to his feet, Miller was left with little time to make a throw on the opportunistic Egami, who scored from first on the play.

The Yotes managed to place a runner at third base with just one out in three different innings before being retired by Evetts and Hadley.

C of I loaded the bases against Hadley in the ninth with lead-off singles by Johnston and Gregg Simonds. Hadley got the first out with a comebacker to the pitcher's' mound and a popup to shallow right put the Cavs to within an out of a victory.

Pinch hitter Brady Mooney drew a walk to load the bases before Hadley eliminated the drama with a fly to rightfielder Cole Pittman (Salem, Ore./West Salem H.S.).

Four different Yotes collected two hits in eth game as Sam Johnston and Mitch Skaggs went 2 for 4 with Johnston hitting a one-out double in the fourth. Gregg Simonds went 2 for 2 and Riley Humber 2 for 3 but were stranded on each occasion.