Warriors blank
Whitworth again 14-0
4-17-08
SPOKANE
- For only the fourth
time in program history,
the Lewis-Clark State
College baseball team
posted its third
consecutive shutout,
blanking Whitworth for
the second straight day,
this time 15-0 on
Thursday.
The Warriors, who held
Whitworth to three hits
in a 5-0 win on
Wednesday in Lewiston,
also defeated Concordia
7-0 on Sunday. The
pitching staff has now
gone 29 innings without
giving up a run, one
short of the 2005 season
when the staff went 30
innings.
LCSC also pitched three
consecutive shutouts in
1980 and '81. The
Warriors have never had
four consecutive
shutouts.
In winning their eighth
straight game and
posting its eighth
shutout of the season,
including four in their
last five games, the
Warriors had a solid
all-around game,
checking Whitworth on
two hits and blasting
six home runs at the
plate.
Junior right-hander Matt
Fitts, who blanked
Concordia 4-0 last
Friday, again was
outstanding. He pitched
seven innings of two-hit
ball with one walk and
nine strikeouts. Fitts,
8-0 overall, has struck
out 35 in his last four
starts and leads the
team in both wins and
strikeouts (72).
Blaine Hardy pitched the
final two innings and
gave up one walk to go
with three strikeouts.
In the two games against
Whitworth, LCSC pitchers
allowed just five hits
in 18 innings and struck
out 27. The two hits
allowed Thursday night
is the lowest hit total
for an LCSC opponent
this season.
The Warriors were just
as impressive at the
plate, collecting 18
hits to improve to 37-4
on the season.
Whitworth, which lost
its 10th straight game,
is 11-25.
LCSC hit six home runs
in a game for the second
time this season and in
a week. Four Warriors,
Mickey Pingree, Josh
Ashenbrenner, Chris
Valencia, and Bret
Spencer, hit their first
home runs of the season,
while senior Kyle Greene
hit his team-leading
16th homer. Green has
hit four home runs in
LCSC's last four games.
Ashenbrenner, a
sophomore, had his best
game at the plate this
season as he drove in a
season-high five RBI. He
was the only Warrior to
drive in more than one
run as the other five
home runs were also solo
blasts.
The Warriors scored a
run in the first on
Greene's home run, three
in the second on Brian
Ward's (shown above)
solo home run, an RBI
single by Brent Wyatt,
and a sacrifice fly by
Paul Martin, and two in
the third on a two-run
single by Ashenbrenner
for a 6-0 lead.
In the fourth, the
Warriors doubled the
advantage, using five
hits and a hit batter
for a 6-0 lead. Sean
Halton's sacrifice fly
drove in the first run,
while Bernard Pena added
an RBI single.
Ashenbrenner then
connected for his
three-run home run,
which was followed by
Valencia's solo shot.
While Whitworth didn't
collect a hit after the
fourth inning, the
Warriors kept rolling.
Spencer started the
seventh inning with his
solo home run, while
Pingree did the same in
the eighth.
Ashenbrenner and Ward
finished with three hits
apiece, while Wyatt,
Greene, and Valencia
added two each.
The Warriors jump right
back into action on
Friday for the start of
a three-game series
against Corban College.
The two will play at
6:30 p.m., and then meet
in a noon doubleheader
on Saturday.
