Warriors whitewash St. Martin's; LCSC pummels Saints 16-2 behind Aguilar's pitching, Dyche's 4-for-4 effort

After barely squeaking out its 11th consecutive win Thursday, Lewis-Clark State made sure the 12th one was never in doubt.

Sal Aguilar allowed one earned run over seven innings, and Joey Dyche went 4-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored as L-C bashed Saint Martin's 16-2 on Friday night at Harris Field in the opener of a three-game series.

Aguilar struggled with his control in the early innings, walking two of the first three batters he faced, but settled down and continually got stronger as the game progressed.

"He didn't look really good in the first inning," said Warrior coach Ed Cheff, whose team moves to 20-4. "But after that he was pretty good. And for a cold night, his velocity was good. He was throwing upper 80s. I liked his curveball better as he went."

The Saints (6-17) took advantage of Aguilar's early control problems, scoring an unearned run in the first when a passed ball by catcher Dan Morrow helped set up a sacrifice fly for Chris Nordness.

Josh Riley would score Saint Martin's only other run in the third inning when Adam Siler lined a single into left field. After that, Aguilar retired 13 of the next 15 batters he faced, including seven by strikeout.

"In the beginning, in the bullpen, I couldn't find my release point," Aguilar said. "So, like in the middle of the second inning, I found it and just kind of got into a groove."

While Aguilar was grooving on the mound, the Warrior bats were beginning to light up at the plate. In the bottom of the third L-C scored six runs as the entire batting order reached base by way of five hits, two walks and three Saints' errors.

Matt Vogel started things off, reaching on a throwing error by Nordness, the third baseman. Then Jose Castenon walked, and Allen Balmer followed with a home run over the right-field fence, nearly hitting the scoreboard.

Brandon Morris took Brady Halverson's next offering and cranked a double to the fence in left-center. He moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored when Brandon Ramsey got caught in a rundown between first and second after walking on four straight pitches.

With still only one out down, Josh Celigoy tagged L-C's third extra-base hit of the inning, a double to right-center. Dyche, who had doubled in his first at-bat, promptly drove him in with his second hit of the night, a single to left. Dyche would later score on a throwing error by Siler.

"I think everyone's timing was perfect," Dyche said about the Warriors' breakout inning. "Everybody's seeing the ball really well, and it was just a good night."

No one had a better night at the plate than Dyche, who had struggled in Thursday's game against California Baptist, going 0-for-3 in the Warriors' 5-4 victory. He lined a two-run triple off the right-field wall during L-C's four-run fourth inning and had another single in the sixth. Dyche boosted his batting average to a team-high .488.

"I was just trying to get comfy," Dyche said. "I struggled last game, so I was trying to fix my swing."

The Warriors would add two more runs in the sixth inning and another four in the eighth to set the tempo for the series.

Aguilar, who won his third consecutive start, moves to 4-0.

"I'm just letting them put the ball in play and actually letting my defense work instead of trying to do everything myself," Aguilar said. "I think we have the best defense in America, so you might as well let them play behind you."

NOTES -- Saint Martin's finished with seven errors, the most by an L-C opponent this year. ... Ben Newton pitched the final two innings for the Warriors, recording four strikeouts while allowing no hits. He has yet to allow a run this year in 10 innings of relief work.


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