L-C, Kooken K.O. Cougars; Warrior junior's ninth-inning blast provides winning margin in 6-5 triumph over Washington State
Copyright of The Trib

The swirling winds that whipped Harris Field on Wednesday night also carried a mess of missed opportunities. The Washington State and Lewis-Clark State baseball teams both had chances to seize control throughout the evening, but never capitalized.

Then, in the bottom of the ninth, the Warriors' D.J. Kooken performed the game's most cold-blooded act.

With the score tied, the right-handed junior launched a solo homer to center field. Kooken's walk-off bomb gave LCSC a 6-5 victory over the Cougars, and provided a dramatic final chapter to a rather flawed contest.

With one out and the count at 1-1, Kooken expected a curveball from WSU pitcher Steve Kost. The left-handed freshman obliged, and Kooken mashed a high shot that drifted just left of straight-away center.

The drive might have actually been helped by the evening's persistent gusts. It wasn't a certain homer when it left Kooken's bat, but ended up clearing the wall easily.

"I just put my head down and started running after I hit it," Kooken said. "I haven't hit too many home runs this year."

Actually, until that shot, he hadn't hit any home runs this season. As he rounded first, he pumped his fist once. And just before reaching home, he ripped the batting helmet off his head -- then waded through a celebratory pummeling from his teammates after crossing the plate.

Kooken, in his first year at L-C, made his biggest splash earlier this month, when he smacked four doubles against Eastern Oregon -- a single-game school record.

"This is way more exciting," Kooken said. "I mean, that's just a record, but I contributed to a win right here against our rivals. That's way better."

Kooken, who replaced Brandon Morris at designated hitter in the seventh, has now appeared in 17 of the Warriors' 43 games.

"I was thinking about that tonight: We've got to get this guy in the lineup," L-C coach Ed Cheff said. "The guy can hit, he's competitive, he's got a good mentality. ... (But) he can't really play anywhere but second."

Before Kooken's homer, WSU (18-24) also conjured some clutch play. Down by a run in the top of the ninth, Jay Miller led off with a single, then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. Miller then came home on Brady Everett's single, making it 5-5.

The Cougars' most costly misstep came in the fifth. After opening the inning with two hits, Everett slapped an RBI single. An error by LCSC shortstop Matt Vogel then allowed another run to score, tying the game 4-4.

But on an attempted hit-and-run, batter Jim Murphy couldn't make contact on the pitch, and a baserunner was gunned out at third. Two batters later, the Warriors got a groundball to end the inning.

"We just flat-out missed the hit-and-run," WSU coach Donnie Marbut said. "Those are the little things that cost you ballgames."

The Warriors (37-6, winners of nine straight) also missed a chance in the fifth. After the first three batters reached safely, the Cougars brought in righty Brett Sommer. He recorded three successive outs without allowing a run to cross.

These teams, who have each beaten the other once, will meet for a third and final time May 11 at Pullman.

NOTES -- LCSC's Joey Dyche extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the sixth. He went 1-for-4, dropping his season average to .506. ... The last time an LCSC-WSU game ended with a walk-off home run was in 1999. A two-run blast by Toby Cheff in the 11th gave the Warriors a 5-3 triumph. "How about that? I don't even remember when my kid hit one," Ed Cheff said. ... For the first time since the beginning of last season, the Warriors climbed to No. 1 in the NAIA rankings. The poll, released Wednesday, has Houston Baptist in second and former No. 1 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) at third. Oklahoma City is fourth and Bellevue (Neb.) is fifth.