Owls gut out victory over L-C; Jefferson goes
distance on mound in 7-1 win; Warriors rip UBC 10-2
By MATT BANEY
OF THE TRIBUNE
The temperature was dropping,
it was just the fourth game of the season and Oregon
Tech was camped on a six-run lead. In a spot like
that, did the Owls really need a heroic wire-to-wire
performance from pitcher John Jefferson?
Against any other team on their schedule, maybe
not. But it was Lewis-Clark State, the NAIA's most
celebrated program, that Oregon Tech had in its
crosshairs.
"Hey, I don't have many chances to beat L-C
State," Jefferson said. "So it's worth it."
The stout right-handed senior fired 155 pitches
-- the sort of total usually not seen until the
postseason -- and limited the Warriors to five hits.
OIT registered a 7-1 victory in the Guardian
Tournament Saturday afternoon at Harris Field.
Prior to the loss, LCSC thumped British Columbia
10-2. In other games, UBC dropped Albertson 5-2 and
Albertson dumped Eastern Oregon 16-9.
In today's final session, the Owls, the only club
still unbeaten in the tournament, will play British
Columbia at 10 a.m. and Albertson at 1 p.m. L-C and
Eastern Oregon will then square off at 4 p.m.
From the sixth inning on, OIT (3-1) had pitchers
warming up to replace Jefferson. But he was too
efficient to be removed: During the last four
frames, he faced just six batters over the minimum.
"He threw about 40 pitches more than I wanted to
go with him," Owls coach Pete Whisler said. "But he
was strong and he wanted to stay in there, so I just
went with his gut instinct. Those types of
situations, you've got to be honest with your
coach."
Jefferson's most serious brush with trouble came
in the fifth. After walking Antoine McLeod, he was
called for back-to-back balks, which moved McLeod to
third. When Jefferson finally got off a pitch, Matt
Vogel bopped an RBI single.
But Jefferson struck out the next two batters,
then induced a popup to end the inning.
The pitcher got all the support he needed in the
Owls' half of the fifth. After Trevor Mauch walked,
the next two batters reached on errors by Vogel,
L-C's shortstop. OIT outfielder Ryan Wilson then
mashed a bases-clearing double to the wall.
"That's what he's in the three-hole for," Whisler
said of Wilson, an All-Region I selection last
season.
Meanwhile, the Warriors were never able to piece
together a rally. Against a steady diet of changeups
from Jefferson, LCSC had no more than one hit in any
inning.
Shortly after the game, the LCSC hitters and
coach Ed Cheff retreated to their indoor batting
cages for some practice.
This appears to be Oregon Tech's first win over
L-C. The Klamath Falls-based school resurrected its
baseball program in 2001 after a long hiatus.
"And we've come a long way in the four years,"
Whisler said. "Like I said, it was a really good win
for us tonight."
The Warriors (5-2) were more successful in their
earlier contest with the Thunderbirds. After single
tallies in the first, second and fifth, L-C plated
four in the sixth. Vogel and Brandon Morris both
provided run-scoring singles during that rally.
Freshman pitcher Chris Kissock started for the
Warriors and allowed four hits and no runs during
his five innings.
Click Here for Box
Score of University of British Columbia
Click Here for Box
Score of Oregon Tech-LCSC
British Columbia 5, Albertson 2
The Thunderbirds scored four times on two hits in
the eighth inning, including Chris Ames' go-ahead
two-run double.
Coyote starter Matt Bergstrom, who held UBC to
four hits through seven innings, was relieved by
Andrew Hall to start the eighth.
British Columbia 010 000 040--5 7 2
Albertson 000 010 010--2 6 1
Grant, Tobin (7), Pasquali (9) and Bell-Irving.
Bergstrom, Hall (8) and Burke.
W -- Tobin (1-0). L -- Hall (0-1). S -- Pasquali
(1).
British Columbia hits -- Ames 2 (2-2B), Prescott
(2B), Campbell, Capone, Yiu, Wallace.
Albertson hits --Stalling, McGrady, Freese,
Strandlund, Arko (2B), Cauffman.
Albertson 16, E. Oregon 9
Nic Florence highlighted his three-hit, five-RBI
showing with a grand slam in the eighth, as the
outfielder led Albertson in a slugfest with Eastern
Oregon.
The Mountaineers swatted seven hits in the first
three innings, but managed just four more the rest
of the game.
Albertson 126 100 240--16 17 2
Eastern Oregon 133 100 100-- 9 11 0
Erickson, Hall (3), Alsager (4), Freese (6), De
La Paz (9) and Hamilton, Burke. Beachy, Alverson
(4), Evans (7) and Johnston.
W -- Alsager (1-0). L -- Beachy (1-1).
Albertson hits -- Stalling, McGrady 2, Standlund
(HR), Burke 2, Florence 3 (HR), Park 2, Kendall 2,
Cauffman, Hamilton 3.
Eastern Oregon hits -- Carpenter (2B), Melum,
Shaffer 5, Johnston, Kirsch, Bigelow, Kisselburg.
------
Baney may be contacted at mbaney@lmtribune.com
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