MONMOUTH, Ore. – The bats went quiet for the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team on Saturday as the Warriors failed to score a run and lost a rare doubleheader to Western Oregon University 2-0 and 1-0 in nonleague play.
The Warriors collected only seven hits on the day, including just two in the first game, to fall to 21-9 on the season. Western Oregon is now 18-11.
Prior to Saturday, the Warriors had never lost to the Wolves on the road in 16 games. It also marked the first time the Warriors had scored less than two runs in a game against WOU.
The Wolves’ Grady Wood outdueled LCSC’s Casey Edelbrock in the opener, which featured only six hits and took just one hour and 40 minutes to play. Wood tossed a complete game, on the second complete nine-inning game by a WOU in the 67-game series dating back to 1983. Wood faced only 28 hitters, one over the minimum and struck out five. Of the two hits he allowed, one was erased on a double play.
Edelbrock, who fell to 2-3 overall, was up to the task and nearly matched Wood. He went six innings and allowed three hits and three walks, but struck out three. Cody Garner pitched the final two innings and allowed one hit and struck out two.
The only run of the game came in the third inning when Eric Copenhagen had an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a single up the middle by Daniel Dillard.
The Warriors didn’t collect a hit until the sixth inning when Billy Sylvestri had a two-out single up the middle, but was forced out at second when Cody Weiss followed with a grounder to short.
LCSC’s other hit came in the eighth inning when Gino Casini grounded a single through the right side of the infield, but Kyle Knigge hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
The second game, which went only seven innings, wasn’t much better for the Warrior hitters as they stranded nine baserunners in the game. LCSC collected five hits and four walks, but left two runners stranded in each of the second, third, sixth and seventh innings.
Western Oregon’s Cam Nobles picked up the win to improve to 3-2 on the season. He pitched six innings and allowed four hits and two walks, but struck out five. Travis Bradshaw added one inning with one hit and two strikeouts to pick up his first save of the season.
LCSC’s Cody Fassold fell to 1-2 overall. He went 4.2 inning and allowed five hits and two runs, only one of which was earned. He also struck out six and walked one. Zach Arneson went the final 1.1 innings with a strikeout.
Western Oregon scored the game’s first run with the help of three singles. Griffin Boyd started the rally with a single and took second on an error. Andre Royal singled Boyd to third and Josh Solemsaas followed with a single to score Boyd.
The Wolves’ other run came in the fifth when Brian Glover singled, stole second and scored on Dillard’s RBI single. Dillard drove in two of WOU’s three runs on the day.
Braxton Miller had two hits for LCSC, which finished without an extra-base hit on the day.
LCSC had runners on first and second with one out in the third and with two outs in the fifth. The Warriors then loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but a double play grounder ended the game.
LCSC, which won Friday’s opener in convincing 10-1 fashion, will try for a split of the four-game series when the two teams meet again on Sunday in a single nine-inning contest at noon.
