The Lewis-Clark State College baseball team saw one streak against Whitworth come to an end, but managed to extend another as the Warriors rolled to a 15-2 win over the Pirates at LCSC’s Harris Field on Tuesday afternoon.
After posting four straight shutout victories over the Pirates dating back to 2008, the Warriors finally gave up a run to the Pirates in the sixth inning on Tuesday, which snapped a 45-straight inning scoreless streak against the Warriors by the Pirates. Whitworth also managed a run in the eighth inning.
However, both of Whitworth’s run were unearned in the game as well as was the last run it scored in 2008. That means Whitworth has not scored an earned run against LCSC in 53 straight innings.
Tuesday’s contest saw both coaching staffs go to their bench early and often. Whitworth used eight pitchers and 22 players in the game, while LCSC used 24 players, including six pitchers.
In the end, the Pirates, 6-14 overall, were their own worst enemy. Whitworth committed five errors, gave up six walks, hit two batters, had four wild pitches and two passed balls. Most of that came during the fifth through seventh innings when LCSC scored 14 runs.
Because it was a pre-determined split with the pitching staff, LCSC starter Tyler Knigge went only two innings but picked up the win to become the first Warrior with five victories this season. The junior right-hander, now 5-0, gave up one hit, walked two, and struck out three. In call, the Warrior pitching staff struck out 13 in the game.
Junior Brian Gaylord continued to swing a hot bat for LCSC and raised his team-leading batting average to .519. He finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Bryson Tajiri went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Connor Moore belted a two-run home run and drove in three runs. Both Tajiri and Moore were mid-inning substitutions in the contest.
The Warriors, 19-2 overall, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second when Brian Gaylord walked, went to second on a single by Gino Casini and eventually scored on a double by Kevin Lovelace.
LCSC then broke the game open in the fifth with four runs on four hits and two errors. Tajiri started the scoring with an RBI single and later scored on an error. Gaylord then ripped his first triple of the season to left-center field to drive in the final two.
Whitworth pushed across its first run in the sixth when John Rausch reached on an error and moved to second and third on wild pitches. He then scored when Ben Price grounded out.
LCSC answered with six runs on five hits and two more errors in the sixth to make it 11-1. Bryan Abrey started the scoring with an RBI single and Tajiri also singled in a run. After a pitching change, Andy Matthews singled in a run while Moore drew a bases-loaded walk. A passed ball scored Matthews, while Josh Ashenbrenner singled to right to bring in the final run.
The Warriors added their final four runs in the seventh on just two hits. Two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases with two outs. A passed ball and a wild pitch brought in the first two runs, while Moore connected to straight away center for his two-run home run.
Whitworth struck for it second run in the eighth. Drew Belton opened with a single and went to third when a pickoff attempt sailed into foul territory in right field. Julian Burgess then singled to score Belton.
The Pirates finished with only four hits in the game while LCSC had 16.
The Warriors now hit the road for two games against College of Idaho before they return home to face the University of British Columbia in a three-game series. LCSC will play College of Idaho in Caldwell on Wednesday at 2 p.m. and Thursday at 1 p.m. in single games, and then meet UBC in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday and a single game at noon on Sunday.
