LACEY, Wash. – Ryan Sells hit a pair of home runs and pitched six strong innings to help the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team defeat Saint Martin’s University 8-2 on Thursday afternoon at the Regional Athletic Complex. The second game of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled due to rain and will not be made up.

“I thought our guys did a good job in our first game away from home,” said LCSC head coach Jeremiah Robbins. “I like the way Sells stepped up in his first start (on the mound) for us.”

Sells (pictured above), who has played 10 games this year at shortstop, surrendered just one run and one hit. The junior from Brier, Wash., struck out four and walked none.

“He did a heck of a job,” Robbins said. “We’ve known all along that Ryan Sells competes. He kept us right there and we were able to open it up a little bit late.”

The Warriors, now 10-3 on the season, took a 2-1 lead thanks to Sells’ two-run homer in the third. Sells hit the blast down the left field line on the first pitch of the at bat.

In the fourth, a leadoff double by Cody Lavalli followed by two walks and a Saint error led to two more runs to extend the lead to 4-1.

The NCAA Division II Saints (0-11) scored their first run via a solo homer by Chandler Tracy in the second. Tracy finished with two of the Saints’ four hits.

In the ninth, the Warriors pushed four more across the plate for good measure. The four-run, four-hit rally was highlighted by another two-run bomb by Sells down the left field line.

Sells ended up 3-for-4 on the day, and Eric Peterson added two hits and two runs scored. The Warriors finished with 12 hits.

“It was a good overall effort for our guys.”

Lewis-Clark State opens NAIA West play on Friday against Corban University (9-3). The two teams, which hold the best overall records in the league, will play doubleheaders at noon Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. Because of rain in the forecast and conditions at Corban’s facility, the four-game series has been moved to nearby Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore.