LEWISTON, Idaho – With continued strong pitching and an unprecedented amount of offense, the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team outscored Corban University 31-0 and roared to two victories on Saturday. LCSC took the first game 11-0, and then scored in every inning of game two to roll 20-0.
Saturday’s game marked the first time in program history that the Warriors have score at least one run in all nine innings of a game.
“That’s progress,” said LCSC head coach Gary Picone with a smile on his face about his team’s offensive outpour in game two. “I was glad to see us be more consistent, and consistent up and down the order.”
Picone has mentioned the need for consistency in many post game interviews this seasons, and on Saturday consistency is exactly what his team gave him.
LCSC pounded 13 hits in game one and a season-high 26 hits in game two (the team’s highest single game hit total since 2008). And on the mound starters Cody Fassold and Casey Edelbrock pitched a combined 16 innings with 17 strikeouts and just six hits.
“I was pleased with our pitching again,” said Picone. “Both starters did a good job of staying focused regardless of the situation.”
The win means the Warriors are now 28-13 overall and 17-8 in the NAIA West. Corban falls to 9-35 and 4-21. The two teams will play two more games on Saturday starting at 12 p.m.
On the day, LCSC finished with four home runs and 17 doubles—including 14 in game two.
Alfonso Casillas and Trent Bridges led with five hits apiece on the afternoon, and Casillas joined Aaron DeGuire, Michael Bush, and Braxton Miller as the four Warriors to hit long balls. They were the first home runs of the seasons for DeGuire and Bush, and the seventh and fifth blasts for Miller and Casillas, respectively.
Fassold started game one and whiffed 10 batters before turning the game over to Alex Murrieta who struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth. The 13 strikeouts in game one are the most the Warriors have recorded in a game this season.
In game two, Edelbrock struck out seven batters without surrendering a walk and then handed the ball to Zach Arneson who pitched a one-two-three ninth with a struck out to end the game.
LCSC has now pitched three consecutive shutouts and their starting pitchers have thrown eight innings in each of those games.
Lewis-Clark State scored seven of its 11 runs in the first and ninth innings of game one.
In game two, LCSC used six hits to score six runs in the first inning and never stopped hitting the ball hard the rest of the game en route to its highest run total of the year.
Ironically, Connor Moore scored a season-high five runs in the game without an at bat. Moore served as the courtesy runner for catcher Billy Silvestri who collected a game-high four hits.
The only other instance of the Warriors scoring during each chance at the plate came in 2002 against Eastern Oregon. In this game, however, LCSC did not bat in the ninth inning because it was the home team. On Saturday, although the game was played at Harris Field, the Warriors were designated as the visiting team for both games to make up for the series at Corban which was rained out. This fact allowed the Warriors to bat in the top of the ninth and do something no other Warrior team has ever done.
