Warriors keep rolling, if frugally
Copyright The Trib

Lewis-Clark State saw a streak come to an end Saturday evening. It failed to score 10 or more runs and pick up at least that many hits for the first time in seven games.

But Austin Weilep provided a double-digit alternative that kept a more notable string intact. The junior right-hander registered 10 strikeouts, a season-high for L-C pitchers this spring, and the Warriors pieced together enough offense to collect their 23rd consecutive victory, 3-1 over Albertson at Harris Field.

Top-ranked L-C, now 34-3, has matched the program's second-longest winning streak and is four victories shy of the 20-year-old school record. The Warriors can inch closer today at noon when they face Albertson, 25-15, in the finale of what has become an annual four-game Caldwell-Lewiston series.

"We've been scoring a lot, but you know you're not going to do that in every game," said L-C coach Ed Cheff, whose team put up less than five runs for only the third time during this tear, which dates back to March 5. "So you like to see that you can get it done in other ways."

Weilep (5-0) struck out the first four batters he faced and ultimately yielded six hits and a walk through his seven-inning stint. Outside of the third inning, when Albertson got its run via a leadoff double by Charlie Strandlund, a Bryan Champ sacrifice and an RBI single by Dane McGrady, Weilep allowed just one Coyote to reach scoring position.

Albertson was no more successful against his relief, Max Hibbs, though L-C's infield deserved much of the credit for that. The Warriors rolled double plays in both the eighth and ninth innings; a game-ending around-the-horn sequence initiated by third baseman Allen Balmer was particularly impressive.

Hibbs pocketed his second save.

"I like the way we're playing defensively," said Cheff, whose team, errorless on Saturday, hasn't committed more than one error in a game in two weeks. "We weren't real good at the plate, but guys came through in key situations."

A Jessie Roehl double, a passed ball on catcher Nate Freese and Dan Morrow's sacrifice fly produced L-C's first run, in the bottom of the third. The Warriors had three hits in the fourth, including Paul Martin's RBI single, while Matt Vogel's triple and Jessie Mier's subsequent single created a run in the eighth.

Mier's single ended the evening for Albertson starter Carson Taysom (4-2), who gave up eight hits.

"No complaints with the way he pitched," Albertson coach Shawn Humberger said. "But to beat good teams, you've got to hit good pitching. We haven't done that. And that's why we can't beat the British Columbia's and the L-C's."

The Warriors and British Columbia, which on Friday clinched the regular-season championship in Region I (Albertson is firmly in second), are responsible for all but three of the Coyotes' losses.

NOTES -- Vogel, who had two hits, extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by any Warrior this year. Mark Thompson had a pinch-hit single in the eighth to push his hitting streak to 11 games. ... D.J. Kooken, L-C's regular first baseman, missed his fourth consecutive game with a rib injury sustained during a conditioning drill early last week. The extent of the injury isn't known. ... Sophomore right-hander Chris Kissock (6-1, 2.04 ERA) will make the pitching start for L-C today.