LEWISTON, Idaho – Starting pitcher Larsen Kohler threw 170 pitches en route to earning a complete game 7-2 victory for Concordia University over the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team on Thursday night. The loss snaps the No. 12-ranked Warriors’ six game win streak.
In an era when few hurlers go much beyond the 100 pitch mark, Kohler (photo), a 6-foot-3 senior from Soldatna, Alaska, seemed to pay no attention to how many pitches he was throwing against LCSC on Thursday. His only focus seemed to be on getting Warrior hitters out and throwing strikes—and he did both effectively.
The right-hander threw 103 strikes in holding the Warriors to two runs and nine hits. He struck out seven and gave up five walks.
The NAIA West Region loss moves LCSC to 15-5 in league play and 26-9 overall. Concordia improves to 11-10 and 19-16. The four-game series will continue with a 6 p.m. game on Friday followed by a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday. On Friday, all fans in attendance will receive a free pack of Warrior baseball cards. Saturday is Youth Baseball and Softball Day and all fans wearing their team shirt will get in free.
Despite the walks and hits he surrendered, Kohler made the necessary pitches to dodge out of trouble and keep the Warriors at bay.
LCSC put runners on base in seven of the nine innings and ended up stranding 13 runners total.
The Warriors loaded the bases with two outs in the third, however, a pop out to shallow right field ended the threat. In the fourth, LCSC had runners on first and second with one out, but an infield fly followed by a strikeout squelched this opportunity.
In the fifth, LCSC used RBI singles by Bobby Tannehill and Billy Silvestri to score two runs, yet ended the inning with two men on base with a fly out to center field. The Warriors also left a man on third in the seventh and a man on first in the ninth.
One of their best opportunities to get to Kohler came in the eighth.
With two outs, LCSC’s Kevin Hawk hit a single to left field and then Kohler finally showed what looked to be a sign of tiring by walking the following batter to load the bases. With the bags full and one of the Warriors’ best hitters at the plate in Trent Bridges, Kohler reared back and threw a 2-2 fastball to end the inning on a swinging strikeout.
Kohler improves to 5-3 overall, having thrown four complete games this season.
Concordia had 10 hits in the game and scored six of its seven runs in two innings. The Cavs first used a two-run triple by Cole Shidaki off the wall in center field followed by a wild pitch to score three runs in the third; and then added three more with three hits, including an RBI triple by Mike Cero, in the seventh.
Shidaki, Concordia’s cleanup hitter, finished 2-for-4 with a game-high three runs batted in. Bridges and Kyle Knigge led LCSC with two hits apiece.
Alfonso Casillas, who usually holds down the cleanup spot in the Warrior lineup, did not play on Thursday. Picone said the senior, who suffered a quadriceps injury in Tuesday’s win over Whitworth, will not play this weekend.
