|
In a matchup of teams that
had both won 19
championships in the 50-year
history of the Banana Belt
Tournament, the Washington
State Cougars snagged a
victory that clinched for
them title No. 20.
WSU put together an
eight-run seventh inning to
fight back from a 5-0
deficit and ultimately
subdue Lewis-Clark State 9-7
on Saturday afternoon at
Harris Field.
The win leaves the
Cougars 3-1 in tournament
games. Since L-C, 2-1, is
the only competitor that can
match that mark -- it closes
out BBT play today against
Portland at 1 p.m. -- WSU is
guaranteed the tournament
crown.
Brady Everett's single to
lead off the seventh inning
was just WSU's third hit off
L-C starter Kyle Wright. But
after designated hitter Zach
Kosturos followed with a
double to center, L-C coach
Ed Cheff turned to his
bullpen, and the Cougar
hitters lit up.
"We knew that guy
(Wright) was tired. We knew
he didn't have his best
stuff anymore," Everett
said. "... I got that
leadoff hit, and I think
that was all our team
needed."
Reliever Derrick
Landavazo threw a wild pitch
on his first delivery,
allowing Garrett Kimbrel,
Everett's courtesy runner,
to score the inning's first
run. Then Zach McAngus
rapped a grounder through
the left side of the
infield, driving inning in
Kosturos, and the Cougar
rally was on.
"They yanked (Wright),
and once we saw the cut we
wanted to just keep opening
up the wound," Everett said.
"Our whole plan was to get
to that bullpen and see what
they had, and that's
sometimes what you've got to
do, especially being a
Pac-10 team. That starter
might be great through seven
innings, then once you get
to that bullpen you got to
step it up and play great
the next three of four
innings."
The Warriors had a chance
to limit the Cougar rally
when Jason Freeman lifted a
lazy fly to left field for
what should have been the
final out of the inning. But
Antoine McLeod misjudged it
and the ball bounced past
him when he made a diving
attempt, allowing two more
runs to score.
Everett picked up an RBI
on his second single of the
inning, then Kosturos capped
the outburst with a two-run
double.
After WSU added a run in
the eighth to stretch its
lead to 9-5, L-C answered
back with two runs in the
bottom half of the inning to
stay close.
Jason Garcia pitched a
scoreless top of the ninth
to keep L-C within reach.
And when Josh Celigoy
reached on an error by
Cougar shortstop Justin
McClure to start the bottom
of the ninth, it looked like
the Warriors might have a
rally brewing.
But McClure recovered,
picking a Brandon Morris
grounder up the middle to
initiate a double play. He
fielded another grounder
from the next Warrior
batter, Dan Morrow, and
threw to first to end the
game.
The Cougar rally ruined
an otherwise solid
performance from Wright, who
made his first start of the
of the season.
"Kyle Wright's a good
one," Cougar coach Donnie
Marbut said. "When he's got
the slider and the split
(finger fastball) going
there's not a lot you can
do. ... Our goal was to get
him out of the game. For
five innings we had no
chance against him but we
just stayed with him and we
didn't change our approach
at all."
"We liked him up until
that big inning," Cheff said
of Wright. "We had that long
inning (in the L-C half of
the sixth), and when he went
back he had sat a while
longer than we would have
liked. Kind of lost what he
had."
Marbut felt Cougar
starter Wayne Daman turned
in a solid performance as
well, even though the
sophomore right-hander gave
up five runs in 5l innings.
The damage was entirely done
by home runs --Allen Balmer
connected on a solo shot in
the first and Brandon Morris
followed suit in the fourth
while Josh Celigoy hit a
three-run dinger in the
fifth.
"This is a tough place to
pitch when you're pitching
against guys like Celigoy
and Morris and Balmer,"
Marbut said "The ball's
going to get hit out of here
if you miss on pitches."
Dane Renkert (1-0) picked
up his first win of the
season, giving up two runs
in two innings of relief.
The win moves WSU to
10-8, two games over the
.500 mark for the first time
this season.
Landavazo (1-1) took the
loss.
L-C, now 8-3, was
defensively bolstered by the
presence of second baseman
Justin Fuller. After missing
the season's first two weeks
with a broken hand, the
junior's debut Friday was
cut short when he fouled a
pitch off his leg.
"It was good to have him
back out there," Cheff said.
"He gives us a lot of
quickness. He gives us a lot
of defense. ... Between him
and (shortstop Matt) Vogel
they can cover a lot of
ground."
Click
here for WASHINGTON ST.
LEWIS-CLARK ST. Box Score
Gonzaga 13, Portland 1
Darin Holcomb homered
twice and drove in four runs
in the Bulldogs' rout of the
Pilots.
Patrick Donovan (3-1)
went eight innings on the
mound for Gonzaga, allowing
a run and four hits while
striking out nine.
Portland 010 000 000-- 1
4 3
Gonzaga 021 603 01x--13
12 3
Ronick, Jones (5) and
Watson. Donvan, Culpepper
(9) and Merriman.
W -- Donovan (3-1). L --
Ronick (1-2).
Portland hits -- Krohn 3,
Pierce (HR).
Gonzaga hits -- Holcomb 3
2-HR, 2B), Campbell (2B),
Thibault, Carlson 2,
Hibbitts, Ayala, McGuinness
3.
Gonzaga 15, Utah Valley
St. 1
Mike Terry had two
homers, and both he and Jeff
Culpepper picked up four RBI
in the BBT finale for both
team.
Gonzaga, which had 16
hits, went 2-2 in going to
8-5 overall. Utah Valley
State, 1-3, is now 5-9.
Utah Valley State 000 000
001-- 1 5 0
Gonzaga 310 702 20x--15
16 2
Mickolio, Smout (4),
Guerrero (8) and Broadhead.
Bryner, Harmon (7), Albrecht
(8), Williams (9) Thibault,
Merriman.
W -- Bryner (2-2). L --
Mickolio (1-2).
Utah Valley State hits --
Drew, Perry, Bateman, Bulow
(2B), Newton.
Gonzaga hits -- Holcomb,
Campbell 3, Thibault,
Culpepper 2 (HR, 3B),
Carlson 2 (2-2B), Terry 3
(2-HR), Hibbitts, Wayt,
McGuinness 2 (HR). |
