Bushnell and British Columbia got upset wins at the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament in Lewiston, ID.
Jonny McGill – photo by Vamsi Nadella
British Columbia 9, Oregon Tech 8. The Hustlin’ Owls got an early 3-0 lead, on an RBI double by Tyler Horner and an RBI on a ground out by Julien Jones in the first inning, and a solo home run by Horner in the third inning. Thunderbird starter Sean Heppner pitched two more innings, allowed only one more hit, although the Owls left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth. The Thunderbirds took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Mitchell Middlemiss, a two-RBI double by Jaden Lamothe, and a run scored when Aidan Rose reached on a fielder’s choice. (Trent Lenihan, who scored on the Middlemiss single, reached base on a wild pitch on strike three.) The Thunderbirds extended their lead in the sixth inning with an RBI single by Lamothe and a three-run home run by Jonny McGill. The Owls got two back in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI on a ground out by Kellen Mendez and an RBI single by Dane Bradshaw.
So, the Thunderbirds led 8-5 going into the ninth inning. They got one more run in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Lenihan, and they needed it. The bottom of the ninth started with a single by Horner off Will Anderson, who relieved Heppner in the sixth inning. He turned the ball over to Evan Hoegler, who threw a wild pitch, then walked Jones. Patrick Barry hit an RBI double, Jones scored on a wild pitch, and the score was 9-7. Ka’ala Tam flied out for the first out of the inning. The Thunderbirds brought in Vicarte Domingo, and he struck out Korrey Siracusa for the second out. Kyle Norton hit an RBI double to make it a one-run game, but Mendez grounded out to end the game.
Cody Dubray started for the Owls, pitched six innings, allowed seven runs on nine hits, struck out five, walked three, and got the loss. McGill and Lamothe both finished 2-for-4 with three RBI. Norton finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. recap
Bushnell 13, Lewis-Clark State 5. The Beacons took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the fourth on a grand slam home run by Cade Crist. They added four more runs in the top of the fifth on a three-run home run by Albert Jennings and a solo home run by Isaiah Hart. However, the biggest story of this game was Alec Gums, who took the mound in the fourth inning, went the rest of the way, allowed zero runs on four hits, and struck out five.
Drake George started for the Warriors, got his first loss of the season. He lasted four innings, allowed seven runs on eleven hits, struck out five. He was relieved by Jantzen Lucas, who gave up four runs, and recorded only one out. The Beacons got a total of 20 hits. Jennings finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored. Nick Seamons went 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI for the Warriors.
This was the Warriors’ first loss at home this year, and ended a 16-game winning streak. recap
Schedule for Sunday:
11 AM PDT: British Columbia vs. Bushnell
2 PM: Oregon Tech vs. Lewis-Clark State (loser out)
5 PM: Loser of the 11 AM game vs. winner of the 2 PM game (loser out)
Official tournament page
Streaming video (paywalled)