PORTLAND, Ore. - Tyler Barrett became the first five-game winning for the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team as he pitched seven strong innings Sunday to help the Warriors defeat Concordia 12-1 in a NAIA West contest.
The Warriors, 20-7, overall, won three of four in the three-day series to improve to 10-6 in NAIA West play. Concordia slips to 8-20 and 3-13.
Barrett, a junior left-hander from Boise, tossed seven innings and allowed seven hits and one unearned run to continue a strong run of pitching for the Warriors during the weekend. Barrett (5-0) also struck out five. Carsen Nylund and Zach Arneson each pitched an inning in relief.
Barrett has not allowed an earned run in his last two starts and lowered his season earned run average to 1.38. He has allowed just 13 walks in 32.2 innings and has struck out 37.
Barrett's performance also helped the Warrior staff allow just five earned runs in the four games, which allowed LCSC to lower its team ERA to 2.40, its third lowest total in the last 35 seasons. LCSC pitchers struck out 34 Concordia batters in 35 innings and walked just eight.
Barrett had plenty of support at the plate Sunday as the Warriors collected 16 hits, their second highest total of the season. LCSC had 18 hits on Feb. 12, also against Concordia.
Senior Brian Gaylord homered for the second straight game and drove in three runs as every LCSC starter had at least one hit or scored a run. Gaylord finished with three home runs in the series and also drove in 11 runs. He now has a team-best eight homers on the season.
Freshman Kyle Knigge had a season-best three hits and three RBI in the contest, while Kevin Lovelace added three hits. Alfonso Casillas and Billy Silvestri added two RBI apiece.
The Warriors continued their hot start in the first inning with a run on Trent Bridges' RBI single. LCSC scored at least one run in the first inning of all four games during the weekend and have now outscored the opposition 38-6 in the first frame.
LCSC made it 4-0 in the third inning when Lovelace and Bridges singled to set up Gaylord's three-run home run to right field, which bounced off the top of the wall.
After Concordia picked up its only run in the bottom of the fourth with the help of a Warrior error, LCSC put up two runs in the sixth for a 6-1 advantage. Knigge drove in the first run with a double, while Cody Weiss added an RBI single.
LCSC added two more in the seventh on a two-run double by Casillas, while Knigge's RBI single in the eighth pushed the score to 9-1.
The Warriors then collected four hits in the ninth inning to push across three runs. With one out and the bases loaded, Silvestri hit a two-run double down the left-field line and Knigge followed with an RBI single to complete the scoring.
LCSC is currently in the midst of a nine-game road trip and its next four games will be in Monmouth, Ore., against Western Oregon. The two teams will play one game each day Thursday through Sunday. Thursday's and Friday's games are at 2 p.m., while the final two games are at noon. LCSC then concludes the road stretch on April 12 in Spokane against Whitworth at 6 p.m.
