LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College’s offensive woes continues for the second straight day as the Warriors fell to St. Martin’s University 3-1 in the final game of the Guardian Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Tournament at LCSC’s Harris Field on Sunday.
A day after collecting only four hits in a 3-2 loss to Dickinson State, an NAIA school from North Dakota, the Warriors managed only one run on eight hits against the NCAA Division II Saints. Sean Halton’s solo home run in the sixth inning provided LCSC its only run.
With the win, St. Martin’s finishes the tournament at a perfect 4-0 and improves to 6-4 on the season. Both LCSC and Dickinson State, which lost to St. Martin’s 10-1 in Sunday’s first game, went 2-2, while Northwest Nazarene went 0-4. LCSC is now 5-3 on the season.
It wasn’t a good weekend for the Warriors in a lot of ways. The team apparently has lost two players for the season to injuries on Saturday. Infielder/outfield Pat Murray, a senior transfer from Oral Roberts University, suffered a knee injury during Saturday’s loss, and following the game, outfielder Kris Miller, a junior transfer from Texas, suffered an elbow injury at the field. Murray made five starts in the Warriors’ first seven games and was hitting .294 with two home runs and nine RBI, which leads the team. Miller made four starts and was just 1-for-11, but his one hit was a home run.
St. Martin’s touched LCSC starter Ryan Woods for five hits and three runs in the first three innings. The Saints picked up a run in the first when Andy Cole doubled, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a groundout by Jake Owens.
St. Martin’s added two more in the third. Andrew Braegelmann started the rally with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error by LCSC shortstop Todd Muecklisch. After a sacrifice bunt moved Braegelmann to third, Cole hit an RBI single to right. Owens then doubled Cole to third and Michael McIver’s RBI sacrifice fly to left plated Cole.
Fortunately for St. Martin’s, that is all it would need because LCSC reliever Tyler Knigge shut down the Saints over the next five innings. The sophomore right-hander from Lewiston allowed just one hit and struck out nine of the 17 batters he faced.
LCSC, however, couldn’t get much going either as it stranded eight base runners, including four in scoring position. The Warriors left the bases loaded in the fourth inning with a pair of singles and a walk with two outs, but a fly out ended the threat.
Halton provided some spark at the plate as the senior hit his third home run of the season, all coming in the tournament. He finished the day 2-for-4 as did Muecklisch. Bernard Pena went 2-for-2. The rest of the Warrior lineup was 2-for-24, but Paul Martin did manage a single and has hit safely in every game this season for LCSC.
St. Martin’s starter Thomas DeBoer (1-0) pitched 6.1 innings and allowed six hits, the one run and a walk. He also struck out two. Casey Mitchell went 2.1 innings and allowed two hits, while Jeff Brooks came on to get a strikeout with a runner on first to end the game.
Cole had two of St. Martin’s six hits and also scored twice.
The Warriors now return to action on Wednesday for a 2 p.m. home contest against Gonzaga. The game was just finalized the past week and won’t be listed on any of the team’s printed schedule cards or posters. LCSC then heads to Salem, Ore., for a three-game series against Corban, starting with a 1 p.m. game on Friday and then playing a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
