CALDWELL/NAMPA, Idaho – Pounding out 25 runs and 32 hits on the day, the College of Idaho won a pair of games on Day 2 of the Treasure Valley Collegiate Baseball Icebreaker.
In a morning game at Wolfe Field, the Yotes (3-4) used a four-run seventh inning to pull away for an 11-5 victory over No. 23 ranked British Columbia. Later in the day, C of I used a six-run ninth inning rally to stun Northwest Nazarene, 14-10, at Vail Field.
The Coyotes hit three home runs on the day, with four different players combining for five hits.
At home against UBC (8-3), the Yotes rode the bat of Cole Mansanerez to a 4-0 lead after five innings. The sophomore had RBI singles in the first and third innings, then roped a two-run single in the fifth.
Zach Fabricius took a shutout into the sixth, but UBC got sacrifice flies in the sixth and seventh, eventually tying the game at 4-4 when Tyler Enns scored on a wild pitch. The senior allowed eight hits and struck out a career-high 10 batters in a no-decision.
C of I returned the favor in the bottom of the frame as Chase Miller triple and scored on a Kyle Garvin single. After Mansanerez walked, Matt Hamilton hit a long opposite field three-run homer to give the Yotes an 8-4 lead. The Coyotes put the game away in the eighth, as Jordan Grubbs clubbed a two-run home and Hamilton added an RBI single.
Mansanerez was 4-for-4 with his four RBI in the early win, with Grubbs and Jake Hennessey each recording three hits. Mackenzie Parlow was 3-for-4 in the loss for UBC.
The afternoon game was a wild affair in the first meeting between the rivals since 2012. C of I erased a pair of three-run deficits, but needed a huge ninth inning rally to earn the victory.
The Crusaders (2-2) struck in the first, as Jesse Hilyard blasted a three-run homer to give the hosts the lead. The Yotes countered in the second, stringing together consecutive two-out RBI singles by Brady Mooney, Grubbs, and Miller to tie the score.
After NNU rallied to take a 6-3 lead, Viydo got the Yotes a run back with an RBI single in the third, with Fabricius tying the score with a long two-run homer in the fifth.
Deadlocked at 8-8 in the seventh, Kaleb DeHaas gave NNU the lead back with a two-run double with two outs. The Crusaders were one out away from a victory, but with two men on, Justin Pilgrim hit Viydo to load the bases and Mooney singled home a pair to tie the score at 10-10. NNU went to their closer Ross Clevenger, but on his first pitch, Grubbs dropped down a bunt in front of the plate, with Viydo scoring in front of a DeHaas tag to take the lead. Miller made it 12-10 with an RBI single, with Mansanerez capping the rally with a two-run single.
Joel Martin picked up his first collegiate win, allowing two runs on four hits with two strikeouts in two-plus innings of work. Miller was 3-for-6 with two RBI; Mooney was 2-for-5 with three RBI; Grubbs was 2-for-6 with two RBI; Fabricius was 2-for-5 with three runs scored; and both Hennessey and Garvin each adding two hits.
Kyle Thomson and Matt Lightfoot each had three hits for NNU.
In other games in the tournament, NNU opened the day with a 4-3 victory over Concordia, while Lewis-Clark State hit five home runs in a 21-2 rout of UBC.
Tomorrow, C of I hosts Lewis-Clark State at Wolfe Field, while UBC meets Concordia at Vail Field, with both games starting at 10:30 a.m.
