Warriors notch No. 25
Copyright The Trib
4-25-06
With Buettner tallying six RBI, LCSC races to 16-7 rout; now within 2 wins of record mark Behind the bat of a reserve catcher, top-ranked Lewis-Clark State inched ever closer to the school's all-time record for consecutive wins.
Jon Buettner, who has appeared in just 12 games this season, pounded out a grand slam to propel the Warriors to a convincing 16-7 win over Whitworth on Tuesday night at Harris Field.
The Warriors (36-3) have won 25 consecutive games and are just two wins away from tying the 1986 mark of 27 in a row.
But the Pirates, an NCAA Division III club, made L-C work early for their latest triumph.
The Pirates (18-18) jumped on top of the Warriors in their very first at-bat, plating two runs on a Ryne Webb single and a throwing error by L-C starting pitcher Dustin Willis.
But the Warriors, as they have all season, responded with their own first-inning barrage.
L-C picked up four runs on three hits and two Pirate errors. Senior Justin Fuller drove in the initial run on a sacrifice fly.
For the season, the Warriors have outscored their opponents 57-6 in the opening frame.
But L-C's biggest inning came in the third, when the club tacked on six more runs.
Buettner led the charge with a two-run double to left-center field.
Ryan Wholey, another reserve who has seen action in just 14 games, added an RBI single to close out the inning.
The junior, who leads the Warriors with a .437 batting average, finished with three hits and two RBI.
The star on this night, though, was Buettner.
After the Pirates had narrowed L-C's lead to 10-7 in the sixth, Buettner promptly closed the door in grand fashion.
With the bases juiced, the senior launched his first home run of the season over the wall in left field.
That gave Buettner six RBI, the highest amount by a Warrior this season and doubled his season total prior to Tuesday.
The Warriors now travel to Orem, Utah, for a three-game series with Utah Valley State.
If the Warriors win the opener against the Wolverines (13-30) on Thursday, they will go for the record the following night. |
