KEIZER, Ore. – Rallying from a 7-1 deficit in the final game of a marathon day for a victory, the College of Idaho claimed a three-game series win over Corban University at Volcanoes Stadium.
The Yotes (14-4, 2-1 NAIA West) won the conclusion of Friday's suspended game, 6-3, with Corban spoiling a great outing by
Jake Eddy in a 2-0 victory in Game 1 of the originally scheduled doubleheader. C of I scored two in the eighth to tie and plated an unearned run in extra innings to gain an 8-7 win in the rubber game of the series.
Mitch Skaggs was the lone C of I player with a hit in all three games of the series, going 4-for-10 with a double, his third homer of 2016 and two RBI.
Yesterday, Skaggs got the Yotes started in the first inning with a two-out RBI single, with the Warriors (3-8, 1-2) manufacturing a run in the second to tie the score. C of I would plate single runs in the third and fifth – as
Gaige Kepner scored on a wild pitch and
Sam Grise delivered an RBI infield single to give the Coyotes a 3-1 lead.
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Cole Mansanarez sacrifice fly in the eighth gave the Yotes a 4-2 lead, but Corban loaded the bases in the eighth, scoring on a Jalen Garcia RBI single, but Caleb Price induced an inning ended double play before the game was suspended due to rain.
When the game resumed this morning, the Yotes capitalized on a two-out, two-base error to score two runs – with
Joel Martin working around a single in the ninth to clock his second save of the season. C of I won despite just five hits – with no player recording more than one hit.
Today's scheduled Game 1 was a pitcher's duel – as Eddy threw seven shutout innings and striking out 10 in a no-decision. Corban's Connor Mattison was just as effective, limiting the Yotes to just two hits and striking out six in six innings.
CU broke through in the eighth, as Garcia doubled home a run with two outs and scored on Jackson Smith single – with Austin Holmes rolling up inning ending double plays in the eighth and ninth frames.
The series finale was all Corban early, as Benjamin Liogon smashed a two-run homer in the second and a three-run blast in the third to give the Warriors the 7-1 lead.
C of I chipped away at the margin, as RBI singles by
Jake Hennessey,
Bobby Wright and
Johnny Hyland in the fourth inning cut the lead in half, with a Skaggs solo homer in the fifth making it 7-5. In the eighth, a Wright walk and a Hyland double set the table, with RBI ground outs from
Hunter Hanson and Mansanerez tying the score.
In the tenth, Hennessey singled and moved to second on a Warriors error, with Wright moving the runner to third with a sacrifice bunt and Hyland delivering a sacrifice fly to give C of I the one run lead. The bullpen made it hold up, as
Niall Manning tossed six-plus innings of two-hit shutout ball, with Wright closing the game for his third save.
The Yotes pounded out a season-high 17 hits, including three-hit games from Hennessey and
Jake Bowman.
C of I returns home on Friday, opening a four-game series with top-ranked Lewis-Clark State.
