Bushnell was swept at Division I Utah Valley, and Lewis-Clark State swept two close games against Eastern Oregon.
At Orem, Utah. First game: Utah Valley 11, Bushnell 9. The Beacons led the Division I Wolverines 9-7 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Wolverines scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth, on a home run by Cole Jordan, a two-run home run by Daniel Dickinson, and a sacrifice fly by Nate Bach to win it. Bach opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. The Beacons got on the board with a run scored on a passed ball in the top of the third inning, then took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Brendan Frazier and an RBI double by Nate Stevens. They scored six runs in the top of the fifth, capped by a two-RBI single by Reece Carganilla, but the Wolverines answered with six runs in the bottom of the fifth, led by a three-run home run by Luke Iverson.
Five of the Wolverine runs were charged to starter Kai Keamo. Ethan Paulson, Alec Gums, and Colby Knutzen were each charged with two runs, but Knutzen was on the mound for the last two, and he got the loss. Mitch Mueller, who pitched the final five innings, and held the Beacons to three runs on six hits, and struck out three, got the win. Jayden Smith finished 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and three runs scored for the Wolverines.
Second game: Utah Valley 19, Bushnell 11. The Wolverines got seven runs in the first inning, but didn’t get the winning run until the fifth inning, on a two run home run by Daniel Dickinson. The score at that point was 13-2, and the Wolverines scored five more in the seventh. The Beacons made the final score closer with seven runs in the top of the eighth, led by two-RBI doubles by Cade Crist and Jacob Richardson.
Jayden Smith finished 4-for-6 with three doubles and an RBI for the Wolverines. Robby Butenschoen, who pitched the fourth inning, got the win. Liam Kerr went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI for the Beacons. Starter Adam Sabatino, who didn’t get out of the first inning, got the loss. The teams were actually close to even in hits, 19 for the Wolverines, 17 for the Beacons.
At Lewiston, ID. First game: Lewis-Clark State 6, Eastern Oregon 3. The margin of victory for the Warriors was four runs in the fifth inning, with a two-run home run by Nick Seamons, a solo home run by Charlie Updegrave, and an RBI single by Pu’ukani De Sa. The Warriors opened the scoring with an RBI double by Jack Sheward and a run scored on a wild pitch in the second inning. The Mountaineers scored two of their runs in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by Chase Nett and a wild pitch. They scored one more run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly Tommy Whiles.
Dominic Signorelli
Starter Drake George got the win, pitched six innings, allowed two runs on six hits, struck out ten. Brock Cordes went the distance for the Mountaineers, allowed six runs on nine hits, struck out eight. Sheward finished 2-for-4. Parker Cumberland finished 3-for-5 with a double and a stolen base for the Mountaineers.
Second game: Lewis-Clark State 4, Eastern Oregon 3. The Warriors scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, with an RBI double by Nick Seamons, and a two-run home run by Dominic Signorelli. The Mountaineers got two runs in the top of the third with an RBI single by Chase Nett and a sacrifice fly by Joey Freitas. They tied it 3-3 with an RBI single by Nett in the top of the fifth. Jake Gish hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh for the winning run. The Mountaineers started the top of the ninth with Matthew Carlson drawing a walk. However, the next batter, Danny Burns, failed to get a bunt down, and struck out. The following batter, Youhyeon Choi, hit a sharp ground ball to the shortstop, Magnum Hofstetter. He had trouble getting the ball out of his glove, so there was only one play, to second base for the out. However, Easton Lasich, the courtesy runner for Carlson, was called for interference, and even though there was no chance of getting an out at first, it was ruled a game-ending double play.
Shane Spencer, Jace Hanson, and Zachary Ediger combined to hold the Mountaineers to five hits. Spencer pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowed three runs on five hits, struck out five. Hanson and Ediger didn’t allow a hit; Hanson got the win, and Ediger got a save. Jakob Marquez finished 2-for-3 for the Warriors, walked once. Nett and Choi each had two hits. Will Seslar started for the Mountaineers, went six innings, allowed three runs on four hits, struck out nine. Alex Farnsworth pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowed one run on four hits, struck out one, got the loss.
