LEWISTON, Idaho – With the exception of a triple play, Concordia University again had a hard time collecting outs against the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team on Saturday. The Warriors continued their torrid hitting by mashing 17 hits and pounding the Cavaliers 13-1 in the final game of the four-game series.
The win improves LCSC to 40-3 overall, while Concordia dips to 9-31. Warrior head coach Ed Cheff has now won 40 games or more in 33 of his 34 years at LCSC (38 victories in 1979). Cheff has 1,697 wins with the Warriors.
While the Warriors were wheeling around the bases on Saturday, Tyler Knigge was dealing a gem on the mound. The junior right-hander held the Cavaliers scoreless and to just four hits through his six innings of work. After striking out 13 in his previous outing, he struck out eight on Saturday and improved his team-leading record to 8-0.
The triple play came in bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded. Brian Burke hit a sharp one-bounce ground ball to the third baseman who fielded it cleanly, touched third base, and threw to first base for the second out. The first baseman then threw the ball home, but the runner who started at third base, who must have thought the hit ball was caught in the air and not on a hop, had already walked off the base path and near the dugout. The umpire signaled the runner as out of the base path for the third out of the inning.
It was only the second triple play turned against the Warriors during Cheff’ tenure. The other triple play was turned by Gonzaga on May 11, 1993, a game which the Warriors ended up winning 21-9.
Outside of the seventh inning, the Warriors, who have now won nine consecutive games, had no trouble bringing runners home. The Warriors scored nine runs in the first four innings, added one more in the sixth, and then added three more as padding in the eighth.
LCSC’s most production came in the second when six hits helped plate five runs. During the rally Travis Georgius had a two-run single, Josh Ashenbrenner had a two-run double to left center, and Kawika Emsley-Pai had a one-run double down the left field line.
Danny Anguiano continued his hot streak as he led all Warrior hitters with four hits and three runs batted in. The senior infielder has now knocked 13 hits in his last four games to raise his average to a team-leading .462.
A host of Warriors had two hits on Saturday including Georgius who finished 2-for-5 with three runs batted in. Ashenbrenner went 1-for-2 with two walks to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.
As for streaks, Lewis-Clark State has now gone a season-high four games without hitting a home run, and has played two straight games without committing an error.
The Warriors improve to 53-3 all-time against the Cavaliers and have won seven in a row after losing to them earlier this season.
Up next on LCSC’s schedule will be a four-game series with Oregon Tech on May 1-2, and a two-game series with George Fox on May 4-5. All six games will be held at Harris Field, and will be the Warriors’ final home games of the regular season.
