Cascade Collegiate Conference recap for March 16

David Draayers – photo by Vamsi Nadella

British Columbia and Bushnell split double-headers with Oregon Tech and College of Idaho.

British Columbia 11, Oregon Tech 6 at Vancouver, BC. The Thunderbirds led 6-1 after three innings, paced by a solo home run by Kaden Zarowny and a two-run home run by Kyle Yip. They put it away with five runs in the bottom of the fifth innings, including a two-RBI double by David Draayers and a sacrifice fly by Zarowny. The Hustlin’ Owls got four runs in the top of the ninth to reduce the Thunderbirds’ margin to five runs.

Ryan Heppner got the start for the Thunderbirds, pitched seven innings, allowed one earned run on five hits, struck out five, walked two. Yip went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, and five RBI. Tyler Horner went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Owls. Box score

Oregon Tech 8, British Columbia 4. The Thunderbirds got an excellent start from Daniel Orfaly. For the first eight innings, he allowed one run on However, he hit the first batter he faced in the ninth inning, walked the second one, then gave up an RBI double by P Barry, which cut the Thunderbirds’ lead to 4-2. Orfaly was relieved by Evan Hoegler. He walked the first batter he faced, then a run scored on a passed ball to cut the lead to 4-3. Ka’ala Tam then hit a two-RBI double for the winning run. It took the Thunderbirds three more pitchers to finally get out of the inning. Riley Cronin, who took the mound with two outs in the eighth inning, pitched a three up three down ninth inning. He retired all for batters he faced, got the win.

The Hustlin’ Owls also got a good start, from Noah Loew, who pitched six innings, allowed two runs on three hits, struck out three. The Owls got a run on a ground out by Patrick Barry in the top of the first, and the Thunderbirds answered with an RBI on a ground out by Aaron Marsh in the bottom of the first. There was no further scoring until the bottom of the sixth, when the Thunderbirds took a 2-1 lead with a sacrifice fly by Mitchell Middlemiss. Orfaly retired 16 straight batters. Middlemiss hit an RBI double for an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and Kyle Yip hit an RBI single for another insurance run that didn’t hold up.

Barry and Tam both went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Logan Macy also had a two-RBI single in the ninth-inning barrage. Marsh went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Box score recap

The Thunderbirds won the series three games to one.

Cade Crist

Bushnell 15, College of Idaho 6 at Caldwell, ID. The Beacons started off with five runs in the top of the first, with a two-RBI double by Ethan Stacey, a two-RBI single by Chase Nye, and a sacrifice fly by Reece Carganilla. They added an RBI triple by Jordan Wilson in the top of the fourth, and Cade Crist hit an RBI single for the winning run. Crist hit three-run and two-run home runs later in the game.

Max Chapman pitched the first 5 2/3 innings for the Beacons, allowed two earned runs on nine hits, struck out four. Nate Rasmussen pitched two hitless innings, and Dylan Ha pitched a hitless inning. Jackson Cummins got the loss. Wilson finished 4-for-5 with a home run, a triple, and two RBI. Crist finished 3-for-6 with two home runs and six RBI. Ben Gaff went 2-for-4 with a double and three runs scored for the Coyotes. Box score

College of Idaho 5, Bushnell 4. Chandler Stocking started off the bottom of the ninth with a single, then moved to second on a ground out. The next batter, pinch-hitter Trevor Watkins, struck out. The next batter was intentionally walked. Then, James Hull drew a walk to load the bases. Jack Ingraham hit a single for the walk-off win.

This game was close all the way, with good efforts by starters Kai Keamo for the Beacons, and Dawson Cummins for the Coyotes. Keamo pitched five innings, allowed one run on two hits, struck out four. Cummins went six innings, allowed two runs on four hits, struck out eight, threw 103 pitches.

The Beacons opened the scoring in the top of the second with a solo home run by Kolby Amaral. The Coyotes answered with an RBI single by Stocking in the bottom of the second. The Beacons too a 2-1 lead with an RBI triple by Amaral in the top of the sixth. The Coyotes took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single by Stocking, an RBI for Pete Bacon by reaching on a fielder’s choice, and an RBI single by Jace Mahlke. The Beacons tied it with a two-run home run by Jacob Richardson in the top of the eighth, but they stranded a runner on third. In the bottom of the eighth, the Coyotes had runners on second and third with no outs, and stranded them. The Coyotes brought in Kaden Lapp to pitch the ninth inning, and it was three up three down.

Lapp got the win. Alec Gums, who took the mound in the eighth inning, got the loss. Stocking finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Amaral was the only Beacon with two hits. Box score recap

The Beacons won the series three games to one.

Standings:

* British Columbia is #2 in Strength of Schedule