LCSC opens baseball season with 8-1 win over Albertsons

 2-16-07

Senior catcher Jessie Mier and junior pitcher Chris Kissock (shown left) picked up where they left off last season, while newcomer Beau Mills made his presence felt as the defending NAIA national champion Lewis-Clark State College baseball team kicked off its season with an 8-1 win over Albertson College of Caldwell in the Regence BlueShield of Idaho Tournament at Lewiston’s Harris Field on Friday. 

Mier and Kissock, both NAIA All-Region I selections last year, both looked sharp in the opener. Mier drove in four runs, including three on a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning. He also added an RBI ground out in the fifth. 

Kissock, who led the team with a 9-2 record last year and threw a 169-pitch complete game in his last outing at the NAIA World Series, checked the Coyotes (2-1 overall) on five hits over seven innings. The right-hander allowed one run and one walk, and struck out six. 

Mills, who played at Long Beach State last year, went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored. Mills nearly picked up the team’s first home run of the season with a shot to right field in the fifth inning, but with the wind blowing in, Albertson right fielder Drew Cauffman was able to make the catch on the warning track. 

The Warriors struck for three runs in the fourth off of Albertson starter Andrew Brock (0-1). Kyle Greene reached second on a throwing error on a ground ball to start the rally and Mills followed with an RBI single. Paul Martin singled in Mills. Martin then stole second and went to third on a throwing error. Jesse Roehl doubled in Martin. 

LCSC made it 5-0 in the fifth, scoring twice on just one hit. Mark Thompson led off the inning with a double, and a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases. Mills followed with his sacrifice fly to right, which scored Thompson, and Mier followed with an RBI ground out. 

A walk and two hit batters set the stage for Mier’s double to right-center in seventh as the Warriors scored three times on just one hit. 

Albertson’s lone run came in the seventh when Tyler Smith singled and went to third on a single by Dane McGrady. Drew Echanis’s sacrifice fly to center field drove in Tyler. 

The Warriors finished the game with eight hits as Mills and Martin finished with two hits apiece. Albertson had five hits, all singles. 

Both teams resume action Saturday in the three-team round-robin tournament. Albertson will play Whitworth of Spokane at 11 a.m., followed by LCSC and Whitworth at 2 p.m. The tournament concludes Sunday with three games. Albertson and Whitworth will play at 10 a.m., followed by LCSC and Albertson at 12:30 p.m., and LCSC and Whitworth at 3 p.m.