KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Jesse Dodd hit two home runs in Game 1, as The College of Idaho split a doubleheader at Oregon Tech, winning the opener, 10-2, before falling to the Owls in the nightcap, 10-4, at Kiger Stadium.
The Coyotes (18-16, 9-9 NAIA West) had hit just two home runs in their first 32 games, but used the long ball to erase an early 2-0 deficit. Jake Hennessey hit his first collegiate home run in the second inning, with Dodd tying the game with a solo shot in the fourth. In the sixth inning, the Yotes would take the lead for good on a Jarel Lewis RBI groundout. Two innings later, the visitors would put the game away with a four-run frame, capped by a two-run blast from Dodd.
Ryan Eddy got the win, going six-plus innings, allowing a pair of unearned runs on seven hits, striking out five. Dodd became the first Coyote to hit two homers in a game since Izaac Garsez hit two long balls against Dickinson State in 2011.
The C of I jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in Game 2, as Jarel Lewis scored on a wild pitch in the opening frame, and in the second, Riley Humberger singled home a run. However, the Owls (13-27, 5-13) took the lead in the bottom of the inning, as Dustin Norman roped a three-run double. OIT would extend the lead to 7-2 in the third on a Tyler Conklin two-run double, before the Yotes answered in the sixth with a Humberger RBI single and a Seth Champlin sacrifice fly to pull within 7-4.
Tech would put the game away in the bottom of the sixth, as Alex Reynolds lined a two-run double, followed by a Dylan Rogers run-scoring double.
Chase Meister worked around nine hits to pick up the complete game victory, striking out seven. Lewis had three hits and Humberger went 2-for-4 in the loss for the Yotes.
The two teams close the series with a doubleheader tomorrow at 11 a.m.
