SEATTLE – Tyler Barrett and four relievers combined on a five-hitter with 14 strikeouts to help the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team end its regular season on a high note with a 7-3 win over Seattle University on Wednesday.
LCSC will take a 37-15 into the 55th annual Avista NAIA World Series, which opens next Friday at LCSC’s Harris Field. The Warriors are the seventh seed in the 10-team double-elimination tournament and will open against Tennessee-Wesleyan at approximately 7:30 p.m.
LCSC split its two-game series with Seattle, which is an NCAA Division I team after the Redhawks roughed up two of LCSC’s top pitchers in a 9-3 win on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s game, however, was a different story as LCSC used a great start by Barrett and a two-run single by Billy Silvestri in the first inning to take the early lead and never look back.
With the LCSC coaching staff using the two games as an evaluation to get down to the 24-player postseason roster, Barrett pitched only the first four innings and allowed just one hit and one walk. He struck out six and faced only one batter over the minimum when one of the two base runners he allowed was erased trying to steal second base.
Cody Fassold pitched two innings and had some control issues with three walks, but he allowed just one run and struck out three. Jorge Sanchez allowed only one hit and struck out two in his inning of work, while Casey Edelbrock gave up two hits, including a two-run home run, in his one-third of an inning. Austin Pentecost allowed two walks and struck out four over the final 1.2 innings.
LCSC collected 13 hits in the game as eight of the nine starters collected at least one hit. Kevin Lovelace finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Alfonso Casillas went 2-for-3. Silvestri was 1-for-3 with two RBI, while Connor Moore was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Garrett Paterson also went 2-for-5.
LCSC picked up three runs in the first inning when Lovelace was hit by a pitch and Gaylord reached on an error. After a two-out walk to Gino Casini loaded the bases, Silvestri had his two-run single to left. Moore then singled to left to score Casini.
LCSC added a run in the fourth when Patterson singled up the middle and scored on a double to right-center field by Lovelace.
The Warriors made it 7-0 in the top of the seventh with three more runs on three hits and an error. With two outs, Silvestri drew a walk and Moore followed with a single. Braxton Miller then doubled to right to score a run. An error on a ground ball by Patterson allowed the second run to score, while Lovelace singled to score Miller.
In all, five of LCSC’s seven runs were unearned off of eight pitchers used by Seattle.
The Redhawks picked up their first run in the seventh on an RBI double by pinch-hitter Matt Comer, while in the eighth, a single by Trent Oleszczuk was followed by a two-run home run by Josh Kalalau.
LCSC left 12 runners stranded, while Seattle left seven.
