Lewis-Clark State rolls to 10th straight win

 4-22-07

LEWISTON, Idaho – Beau Mills hit his NAIA-leading 23rd home run of the season to highlight a five-run first inning as the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team completed a season series sweep of Albertson College with a 10-3 triumph at LCSC’s Harris Field on Sunday. 

LCSC, which went 8-0 against Albertson this season, is the NAIA’s top-ranked team and now stands at 38-3 overall and 18-1 in Region I play. LCSC’s overall record is its best start since 1983 when that team also was 38-3 after 41 games. 

 No. 21-ranked Albertson is now 24-13 overall and 14-10 in Region I play with six of those losses to the Warriors in region play, including the last three during this weekend. 

LCSC, which outscored Albertson 27-8 in the three-game series, took a 9-0 lead after three innings on Sunday and cruised to its 10th straight victory. 

Mills put LCSC on the board in the first inning with a three-run blast, which put his NAIA-leading RBI total at 79. Mills also has now hit in 20 consecutive games, which is the sixth longest hitting streak in Warrior history. Justin Fuller holds the all-time mark of 30 in 2004. 

Mills has homered in three of his last four games and the 23 home runs leaves him fourth on the LCSC all-time single-season list. Jim O’Dell holds the record with 30, followed by Montie Phillips at 25, and Doug Blume at 24. 

The Warriors wasted little time in getting the lead on Sunday. Mark Thompson reached first when he struck out, but the ball got past the catcher and he was able to reach first before the throw. He then stole second, one of his three stolen bases on the day, and went to third on Brent Wyatt’s single. Mills then blasted his three-run shot to center field, and after a double by Paul Martin, Kyle Greene followed with a two-run homer to center, his fifth of the season. 

LCSC added a run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Wyatt, and pushed across three more in the third for a 9-0 advantage. Greene started the score with an RBI double, while Kyle Melton hit and RBI single and scored on a double by Thompson. 

In the meantime, LCSC pitcher Matt Fitts was causing problems for the Coyotes. He pitched five innings of two-hit ball, and struck out five and walked one. 

Brad Schwarzenbach came on in the sixth and was immediately touched for two runs by Albertson, which added another run in the seventh. Schwarzenbach allowed six hits and two earned runs in his three innings of work, with one walk and three strikeouts. Brian Parker pitched a perfect ninth to end the game. 

A ground out by Mills in the sixth produced the Warriors’ final run. 

Mills finished 1-for-5 with four RBI, while Greene went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Thompson went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI, while Martin went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. 

Luke Howarth went 3-for-3 with an RBI to pace Albertson.  

The Warriors now hit the road for their final six Region I road games. LCSC will face Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore., in a single game on Tuesday and a doubleheader on Wednesday. LCSC then will head to Salem for a single game against Corban on Friday. The two meet in a doubleheader on Saturday. 

LCSC will then complete Region I play with a three-game home series against British Columbia on May 1-3.