CALDWELL, Idaho – Cole Mansanerez and Chase Miller each had three hits and five RBI, lifting the College of Idaho to a doubleheader sweep of Whitman College at Wolfe Field.
The Yotes (27-15) grabbed a 9-1 victory in the opener and cruised to a 14-1 win in the late contest, completing a four-game season series sweep of the Division III Missionaries (6-23).
After working out of jams in the first three innings, the Coyotes found their offensive stride, batting around in the third for five runs. Back-to-back RBI doubles by Jake Hennessey and Miller got C of I on the board, with a two-out Mansanerez single extending the lead to 3-0. After a walk to Matt Hamilton, the Missionaries made a pair of errors on a ground ball hit by Mitch Viydo, allowing two runs to score.
It was more than enough for a trio of C of I pitchers – as Gary Koopman fanned four in two innings of work; Russell Sweet tossed two clean frames to earn the win; with Drew Klassen striking out three in three innings to notch his first collegiate save.
Nick Johnson and John Lyon each had two hits for Whitman.
Game 2 was all C of I, bolting out to a 9-0 lead after three innings to complete the sweep.
The Yotes scored twice in the first, plating a run when a wild throw on a Jordan Grubbs bunt single went down the right field line, scoring Miller from first, with Mansanerez driving Grubbs' home with a base hit.
A Grubbs RBI single keyed a three-run second, with Miller roping a wind-aided three-run home run in the third to make it 9-0. Two-run doubles by Jake Guza and Mansanerez in the fifth pushed the lead to 13-1.
Six different C of I pitchers combined to limit the Whits to just one run, with Brady Winfield allowing just two hits and striking out three to record his second win of the season. Troy Carr was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, with Miller, Grubbs, and Mansanerez each logging two hits.
Jonny Chow had three of the Missionaries 10 hits in the loss, with reliever Sean Cunningham going two-plus innings of scoreless relief.
C of I hits the road this weekend for a key four-game weekend series at Oregon Tech, beginning with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. (PT)
