VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Lewis-Clark State College baseball team battled through a second straight day of cold and wet weather to pick up an 8-2 win against the University of British Columbia on Saturday. The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader was move to Sunday because of heavy rain.
Similar their 6-0 win on Friday, the No. 15-ranked Warriors combined a mix of good pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting to come away with another NAIA West Division win. The game also played out in a similar fashion in that the Warriors again broke it open with a rally in the ninth.
“Our pitching has been good,” said LCSC head coach Gary Picone. “Also we’re taking a better approach at the plate with runners in scoring position, and that’s good to see.”
A season-high six doubles helped Lewis-Clark State, now 23-8 overall and 13-4 in league play, gain an early lead and add on throughout the game.
Trent Bridges, who scored a game-high three runs, hit a double in the first and came in to score on a two-out single by Billy Silvestri. The double extended Bridges’ hitting streak to a team season-high 14 games.
In the fourth, Silvestri doubled and was brought home by a two-out single by Aaron DeGuire; and in the fifth, a two-out walk by Bridges followed by a double, on a 3-0 pitch, by Alfonso Casillas made it 3-0.
Starter Michael Noteware held the Thunderbirds to just one run (unearned) over six innings to earn the win for the Warriors. The junior, who has allowed only two earned runs in his last 26 innings of work, struck out six and surrendered five hits and one walk. He leads the Warrior pitching staff in victories as he is now 6-1 overall.
“Noteware was good again today, and it was a tough environment to pitch in—with the rain and the wind,” Picone said. “He can throw multiple pitches over the plate consistently, and when you can do that you can be pretty effective.”
British Columbia, 18-11 overall and 11-7 in league play, responded to the three-run deficit in the bottom of the fifth when a would-be double play turned into a run thanks to an errant throw to first on the turn. Then in the seventh, the Thunderbirds used two singles and a fielder’s choice groundball to make it 3-2.
In the eighth, the Warriors brought in reliever Sal Arena and he was able to shut UBC out over the final two frames. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out one while giving up one hit and a walk to earn his fourth save of the season.
For good measure, the Warriors put a five-spot on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth. The big blow of the inning came when Casillas hit a bases-loaded single to drive in two runs. The Warriors also had two doubles in the inning, including an RBI double by Braxton Miller.
“Alfonso had a couple of key hits today,” said Picone. “He’s hitting the ball to all fields right now, and when he hits the ball from the right-field line to the left-field line he can be a real effective hitter.”
LCSC had a 10-9 lead in hits on the day. Casillas, Miller, Silvestri, and Deguire had two hits apiece. Casillas had three runs batted in and now has five hits and six RBI through the first two games of the series. UBC’s Nick Senior and Ryan Taylor also had two hits apice.
Sunday’s doubleheader, which will wrap up the four-game series, is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., Pacific.
