LCSC defeats Oklahoma City 9-5 in 12 innings
05-26-08
LEWISTON, Idaho
- Mike Rivera, who entered the game in the bottom of the
10th inning, slugged a solo home run in the top of the 12th
to lift two-time defending champion Lewis-Clark State
College over Oklahoma City University 9-5 in a wild contest
before 5,160 fans in the 52nd annual Avista NAIA World
Series at Harris Field on Monday night.
Rivera replaced
Nic Benton in left field with one out in the bottom of the
10th and Oklahoma City threatening with a runners on first
and second. OCU eventually got the potential winning run to
third base but stranded him there.
Rivera, who had
only one home run in his previous 98 at-bats this season,
took a 2-1 pitch from reliever Garrett Parker and put it
over the right-center field fence.
LCSC added two
more runs in the 12th when OCU self-destructed defensively.
Brent Wyatt doubled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Sean Halton added an RBI single, while a dropped fly ball
allowed another run to score.
OCU used five
pitchers in the 12th inning and tied a Series record by
using seven pitchers in the game.
The Stars did put two runners on base in the bottom of the
12th, but the Warriors turned a double play to end the game.
The win means LCSC, 55-6 overall, can finish no worse
than tied for third in the tournament. The Warriors and
Lee University are the lone undefeated teams and will
meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. OCU, 56-11, is one of four
teams with one loss remaining. The Stars face
Embry-Riddle in a loser-out game at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
The first game Tuesday has Union against Spring Arbor at
11 a.m., also in loser-out play.
Both teams had opportunities to end the game. LCSC
rallied from a 4-1 deficit and took a 5-4 lead in the
eighth inning on a solo home run by Sean Halton. OCU,
however, picked up an unearned run in the bottom of the
ninth with the help of an LCSC error.
While Rivera provided the hitting heroics, LCSC
relievers Justin Mace and Blaine Hardy put him in the
position. The two combined to not allow an earned run in
their eight innings of work.
Mace, who has been used mainly as a closer this
season, stretch his scoreless streak to 22 innings
by holding the big-hitting Stars to just five hits
over 4.2 innings. He entered the game in the third
for starter Michael Guerrero who was roughed up for
four runs early. Mace struck out five and walked two
and has not allowed a run in his last 10
appearances.
After Mace issued a walk to start the eighth inning,
he was replaced by Hardy who pitched the final
five innings. He allowed four hits and two walks,
and struck out four.
LCSC, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, rode Mace's
performance to gradually chip away at the lead. The
Warriors scored single runs in the fourth, sixth,
and seventh to tie the game. Halton then took the
second pitch of the eighth inning and put it over
the left-center field fence to give the Warriors
their first lead of the game. It was the designated
hitter's sixth home run of the season.
Just three outs away from the win, the Warriors
allowed the Stars to tie the game in the bottom of
the ninth. Kirk Walker hit a grounder to Warrior
shortstop Brent Wyatt, who threw wild to first base,
allowing Walker to reach second. After an out, David
Dennis singled to left to tie the game and force
extra innings.
Oklahoma City, the
No. 2 seed in the 10-team double-elimination tournament,
jumped out to a 4-1 lead after three innings against LCSC.
The Stars took a 2-0 lead in the second when Brandon Moss
was hit by a pitch and Landon Camp followed with a two-run
home run.
LCSC countered
with a run in the top of the third when Benton walked and
advanced to third on a pair of groundouts. Kyle Greene's
single to right field scored Benton.
The Stars made it
4-1 in the bottom of the inning when Brent Weaver was hit by
a pitch and scored on a double by David Dennis. Moss then
followed with an RBI double to end Guerrero's night.
LCSC cut the
margin to 4-2 in the fourth when Halton drew a leadoff walk
and scored on a triple by Chris Valencia.
Brian Ward's RBI
double in the sixth made it 4-3. Ward's hit scored Ikaika
Lester, who started the rally with a single.
The Warriors then
tied the game in the seventh when Paul Martin singled with
one out and advanced to second on a fielding error. Greene
followed with a single to left field to score Martin.
Greene and Halton
had two hits and two RBI apiece for LCSC, while Halton and
Josh Ashenbrenner also had two hits. Dennis had two hits and
two RBI for the Stars, while Moss and Caleb Annesley added
two hits apiece.
