CALDWELL, Idaho – Gregg Simonds went 3-for-4 and scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning, helping The College of Idaho to a four-game sweep of the University of Puget Sound with a 5-4 victory at Wolfe Field.
Simonds lined a one-out double and moved to third on a ground ball out. With Sam Johnston at the plate, UPS (7-13) reliever Steve Wagar bounced a curve-ball up to the plate, allowing Simonds to score from third to break a 4-4 tie.
Brady Winfield got the win for the Yotes (15-9), tossing five shutout innings of relief – allowing three hits and striking out three.
The C of I scored in each of the first three innings to take a 4-0 lead – as Nick Muncy led off the first with a triple and scored on a balk, while Erik Jacobs added an RBI single in the second to make it 2-0. In the third, the Yotes loaded the bases with no outs, scoring a run on a double play ball and another on a Johnston RBI single.
Coyote starter George Casper retired the first 10 UPS batters, but the Loggers used a big fourth inning rally to tie the game – getting a two-run double from Lucas Stone, an RBI groundout from Nathan Backes, and a Jeff Walton RBI single to make it 4-4. However, the visitors did not have a runner reach third the rest of the way.
Muncy went 3-for-5 and Riley Humberger had two hits in the win for the Yotes, with Walton and Bobby Hosmer each logging two hits for UPS. Wagar allowed just one run on five hits, striking out three, in the losing effort.
The Coyotes return to action this weekend with a four-game series at the University of British Columbia.
