Warriors dump Concordia
By JIM BROWITT of the Tribune
Brandon Morris belted a lightning-strike home run.
Allen Balmer provided a couple of fielding gems at third base. And Joey
Dyche made a dandy catch in center field.
While opening day had some undeniable highlights, Lewis-Clark State
essentially offered up a nondescript performance in its 9-2 victory over
Concordia of Portland, Ore., on Friday afternoon at Harris Field.
The three Warrior pitchers who threw were all alternately sharp and
suspect; L-C's batting order mustered eight hits; and moments of
splendid defense were juxtaposed with a couple of conspicuous mistakes.
"We had some good and some bad," said Warrior coach Ed Cheff, whose
team will play twice today as part of the four-team Les Schwab
Tournament, which runs through Sunday. "I liked a lot of the things we
did. But we also had quite a few lapses."
Concordia, though, endured even more. The Cavaliers, which like L-C
went 1-2 in last year's NAIA World Series, committed two errors and saw
catcher Adam Hackstedt charged with three passed balls.
A passed ball, a walk and a wild pitch led to two L-C runs in the
first inning -- without the benefit of a hit. After Concordia tied the
game in the top of the second via a leadoff walk and James Mannion's RBI
double, the Warriors took the lead for good in the third when Balmer
scored on an error by second baseman Derek Shigano.
Two swings on successive pitches produced four runs for L-C in the
fifth. After Josh Celigoy's double to the right-center field wall drove
in two, Morris roped the subsequent delivery from Billy Burbank into the
left-field stands.
Morris had three hits, and Balmer scored three times.
Derrick Landavazo, who relieved L-C starter Carlos Fisher to start
the fourth, worked four shutout innings, giving up two hits and a pair
of walks while striking out three.
Landavazo "threw a lot of really good pitches, get two outs, then
throw some bad ones," Cheff said of the senior right-hander, who was
awarded the win; the fact that L-C pitchers worked predetermined splits
left the decision up to the discretion of official scorer.
The ability of Warrior pitchers to dodge trouble could largely be
attributed to defensive support. L-C turned the game's only double play
when Concordia had the bases loaded with one down in the first, and
Balmer snagged a shot off the bat Mike Allen -- a bad-bounce grounder
that was headed for the left-field corner -- initiating an inning-ending
fielder's choice in the third.
Balmer made an another impressive pickup-throwout to start the
Concordia fourth, and Dyche made a lunging stab of a drive from Tyler
Young, who led off the eighth.
Despite managing just five hits, the Cavaliers stranded 13
baserunners.
BOX SCORE
Linfield 9, E. Oregon 4
Linfield rang up 14 hits, including a home run from John Dailey to
lead off the Wildcats' big inning, a four-run sixth.Both teams were
playing in their season openers.
Eastern Oregon 000 010 021--4 9 1
Linfield 300 024 00x--9 14 0
Ferguson, Evans (6) and Johnston. Shilliam, Clark (8), Marcum (8) and
Stolsig.
W -- Shilliam (1-0). L -- Ferguson (0-1).
Eastern Oregon hits -- Melum 3 (2B), Shaffer, Kirsch, Johnston 2,
Fore 2 (2B).
Linfield hits -- Anderson, Paterson, Moore 2 (2B), Baker 2 (2B),
Stolsig 2, Dailey 2 (HR), McFarland 2 (2B), Boustead 2.
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Browitt may be contacted at jbrowitt@lmtribune.com |
