LACEY, Wash. – The Lewis-Clark State College baseball team overcame an early deficit to defeat Saint Martin’s University 8-6 in 10 innings on Tuesday. A good outing for Tyrell Poggemeyer in long relief helped the Warriors force the game into an extra frame, and a two-run home run by Jake Eccles (photo) in the top of the 10th sealed the deal.
Eccles, a junior from Canyon Lake, Calif., sent his game-winner over the wall in left field and plated Bryan Abrey who had led off the inning with a single. It was Eccles’ third long ball of the season.
The win lifts the Warriors to 18-2 overall, which ties for third as the best start in program history. The all-time best starts of 19-1 came in 2007 and 1991.
Henry Buenrostro, despite surrendering the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth, earned the win for the Warriors as he pitched the final three innings and struck out three. Poggemeyer threw five and one-third scoreless innings out of the bullpen and notched a season-high six strikeouts. Buenrostro has now collected two wins and four saves in eight relief appearances, while Poggemeyer has allowed only two earned runs in his 14 innings of work.
The Warriors, who were looking to quickly return to their winning ways after having their 16-game win streak snapped by the Saints on Monday, put themselves in a hole early on as the Saints took advantage of two LC errors by pounding four hits and scoring five runs in the second inning.
Thanks to the performance of Poggemeyer the Warriors had time to recover. Down 5-2, LCSC added on two runs with double by Brian Gaylord and a triple by Danny Anguiano in the fourth. Then in the ninth, the Warriors scored the tying and go-ahead runs.
LCSC’s ninth inning rally began with a walk followed by a double by Trent Bridges to left field. Then, with runners on second and third and two outs, Pat Murray lined a double to the gap in left center to plate both runners.
Saint Martin’s scored the tying run in the ninth thanks to two singles and a lot of hustle. With one out, Andy Cole singled to left field. He then was able to make it to second on a groundout to the second baseman. This was followed by a single up the middle by Luke Abbot which brought the tying run in.
The Warriors collected 14 hits in the game, while the Saints had 13.
Gaylord and Anguiano led the Warriors with 3-for-5 efforts, while Eccles, Abrey, Murray, and Bridges had two hits apiece. Murray extended his hitting streak to seven games, while Brian Burke saw his 12-game hit streak come to an end. Gaylord’s day at the plate lifted his team-leading average to .510.
The Saints had two players with three hits in the game as Abbott ended the day 3-for-4 and Travis Jones was 3-for-6. Aaron Johnson, Cole, and Andrew Elke had two hits apiece.
LCSC now will enjoy six days off—its longest stretch without a game since starting the season—before its next tilt. On March 23, the Warriors will host Whitworth University, and then travel to Caldwell, Idaho, to face the College of Idaho on March 24-25.
