Warriors' winning streak hits a sweet 16
Copyright of The Trib
5-8-05

A four-way pitching split produced Lewis-Clark State's ninth shutout of the season, and the Warriors rang up 14 hits in a 7-0 victory over Whitworth on Sunday in the finale of a three-game series at Harris Field.

Sal Aguilar, who worked the first five innings on the mound, collected his team-best eighth win. L-C, the NAIA's top-ranked team, bumped its record to 42-6 and its winning streak to 16 games.

Whitworth, an NCAA Division III affiliate, closes out its season at 19-18.

Gavin Concepcion had three hits, two of them doubles, and drove in two runs for L-C, which scored twice in each the third, fourth and sixth innings.

Four other Warriors had two hits apiece.

Joey Dyche, however, went hitless for the second consecutive game. He was 0-for-2, and came out after grounding into a double play in the third inning.

Dyche's batting average dropped to .494, taking him below .500 for the first time in 11 games.

Concepcion had a two-run double in the fourth inning, while Justin Fuller and Ryan Stevenson rapped RBI singles in the sixth.

Aguilar allowed four hits and struck out four. Warrior pitchers combined for seven strikeouts while walking two.

Whitworth, which stranded six baserunners, all of them in scoring position, squandered one of its best opportunities in the ninth. After Dan Gebbers led off with a double, Nick Froman laced a drive into the right-center gap.

Thinking the ball would drop, Gebbers was well off the bag when right fielder Rhett Parker make an impressive lunging catch, so he had to return to second. A subsequent groundout and flyout ended the threat and the game.

The Warriors close out their regular season with four games against NCAA Division I opponents, three on the road. They'll venture north twice this week, playing Gonzaga in Spokane on Tuesday and Washington State at Pullman on Wednesday.