Cascade Collegiate Conference recap for March 10-12

Lewis-Clark State had the week off.

The series between British Columbia and Corban, at Volcanoes Stadium in Salem, began with a 4-3 win for the Warriors. Nate Martin pitched a gem for the Warriors; he went eight innings, struck out seven, All of the Thunderbirds’ runs came in the third inning, on an RBI single by Kyle Anderson and a 2-RBI triple by Mitchell Middlemiss. The Birds led 3-0 at that point, but the Warriors tied it 3-3 with an RBI single by Brad Pellkofer in the fifth inning, and got the winning run on the seventh on a bunt by Elijah Maris. Daniel Sereda got the loss.

The Thunderbirds retaliated big-time the next day, sweeping a double-header 10-0 and 21-1; both games ended after seven innings with the mercy rule. Sean Heppner and Graham Seltzer combined for the shutout in the first game; Heppner went six innings, allowed four hits, struck out seven. Mike Fitzsimmons hit a home run and two doubles, finished 4-for-4 with 2 RBI. British Columbia’s other Point Roberts, WA import, Ryan Heppner, got the win in the second game, allowed one hit in five innings of work. Fitzsimmons got three more hits and three more RBI, but the most damage was done by Trent Lenihan, who finished 4-for-6 with three doubles and seven RBI.

They went back to playing baseball the next day, in the final game of the series. The starters were Ryan Beitel for the Thunderbirds, and Hayden Van Acker for the Warriors. The game was scoreless for six
innings. The Thunderbirds got all the runs they needed in the top of the seventh inning, on an RBI single by Mario Ricci, an RBI double by Cam Sanderson, and an RBI single by Aaron Marsh. The Warriors got one back in the bottom of the seventh on a bunt by Keenan O’Brien, but that was the end of their scoring. Brandon Hupe added an RBI triple in the eighth, and the final score was 4-1. Cole Alguire, who pitched the sixth and seventh innings, got the win. Vicarte struck out three of the four batters he faced in the eighth inning, and Brendan Logan pitched the ninth inning and got the save. Trevor Szczepanek got the loss. Van Acker allowed only two hits in the five innings he pitched. Beitel allowed four, and struck out seven.

Bushnell won two of three at home vs. Oregon Tech. The Beacons won the first game 6-4. They led 4-3 going into the eighth inning. The Hustlin’ Owls tied it in the top of the eighth with a sacrifice fly by Brodie Marino, but the Beacons got the winning run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by Jeff Fripp, and added an insurance run when Cayden Delozier (transfer from Linn-Benton CC) scored on a ground out by Jacob Stoner. Daniel Furman got the win; he pitched the last two innings, struck out five of the eight batters he faced. Drake Aboud (transfer from Umpqua CC) got the loss.

The Beacons won the second game of the series 4-3, but it took 14 innings to do it. The Owls sent it into extra innings with an RBI single by Marino in the eighth inning. The Beacons missed a chance to win in in the bottom of the ninth when pinch runner Dylan Martin was out at home on a throw from center field by Julien Jones (another transfer from Umpqua CC). Cade Crist (transfer from Tacoma CC) hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 14^th to win it. Jayden Soriano, who pitched the final three innings, got the win, and Riley Cronin got the loss. The Owls got an excellent relief effort by Braeden Bellum, who pitched six shutout innings, allowed four hits.

The Hustlin’ Owls won the third game 11-5, despite being shut out for the first six innings by Beacons starter Adam Sabatino. The Owls got on the board with an RBI single by Jones, then got three unearned runs on a dropped fly ball. The winning run came in the next inning on a two-RBI single by Tyler Horner. Jordan Wilson and Dylan Carson hit home runs for the Beacons. Brendan Talonen got the win for the Owls, Trenton Hough got the loss.

College of Idaho swept four games at home vs. Eastern Oregon, 6-4, 11-7, 6-3, and 11-3. The Coyotes trailed 4-3 in the first game going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but pinch hitter Matthew Iwamizu (transfer from Western Oregon) hit a two-run home run for the winning run, and Kirby Robertson (transfer from Columbia Basin CC) added another home run. Nick Eliason (transfer from Treasure Valley CC), who struck out four of the six batters he faced, got the win.

The second game was tied 5-5 after five innings, but the Coyotes took over with a 3-run home run by Skyler Sadora (transfer from Big Bend CC) in the bottom of the sixth. Robertson hit a 2-run home run earlier in the game. The same Nick Eliason pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, allowed one hit, and got his second win of the day.

The Mountaineers had a 3-2 lead going into the seventh inning of the third game, but the Coyotes score four runs in the bottom of the seventh on RBI singles by Jonah Hultberg, Kris Kirkpatrick, and Iwamizu, as well as Sadora scoring on a passed ball. Robertson got the win in relief, allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings.

In the fourth game, the Coyotes got all the runs they needed in the first inning; Tristen Garland (transfer from Big Bend CC) scored on a passed ball, then Jordan Kelly (Canberra, Australia, transfer from Williston State) hit a 3-run home run. Hultberg finished 4-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored. Ben Gaff got the win in relief; he pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowed one run on three hits.

Next Week:

British Columbia at C. of Idaho March 17-19 video
Corban at Lewis-Clark State March 18-19 video audio
Oregon Tech at Eastern Oregon March 17-18 video
Bushnell at Western Oregon (8-6) March 15 video, home vs. Lewis & Clark (13-5) March 18-19 video. (That is Division III Lewis & Clark in Portland, not Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, ID)

Standings