KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. –
Zach Draper tossed a five-hit shutout in Game 1 and the College of Idaho offense rallied from two deficits to claim Game 2, as the Yotes swept a key doubleheader from Oregon Tech at Kiger Stadium.
The 2-0 and 15-11 victories improved the Yotes (29-14, 17-9 NAIA West North) to 6-0 this season against the Owls and clinched C of I's 29th postseason appearance in the last 30 years.
Draper was dominant in tossing the Yotes first complete game of 2016, working around two doubles and one walk, striking out nine men to pick up his ninth victory of the season. The lefty worked out of key jams in the first, third and seventh – where OIT (15-30, 6-20) left runners at second and third in each inning.
Tyler Bennett tried to match Draper pitch-for-pitch, but the Yotes struck for single runs in the second and third – enough for the victory. In the second,
Bobby Wright singled, stole second and scored on a
Jake Bowman RBI single for a 1-0 lead. An inning later,
Cole Mansanarez singled with two outs and
Dalton Ridgway brought him home with an RBI single.
Ridgway was the lone player for both teams with two hits – recording a double and triple in the win.
Game 2 was a slugfest, as the Coyotes rallied from 4-1 and 10-7 deficits for the win.
Mitch Skaggs gave C of I a quick 1-0 lead in the first with his tenth home run of the season, but Tech answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning and added RBI singles from Ryan Grant and Matthew Moorehead in the fifth to grab a 4-1 advantage.
The Yotes regained the lead in the sixth – getting RBI singles from Ridgway and Wright, while scoring two runs on a pair of OIT errors – to make it 5-4. An inning later, a Skaggs RBI single and a Ridgway sacrifice fly pushed the C of I lead to 7-4.
Tech battled back, as a Michael Kilpatrick bases-clearing triple was the big hit in a six-run seventh, as the Owls regained the lead at 10-7. The Yotes, were not done, scoring four times in the eighth – as an RBI single from
Hunter Hanson and an RBI double from Skaggs was followed by a pair of run scoring wild pitches – to take an 11-10 lead.
OIT scored an unearned run in the eighth to draw even again at 11-11, but C of I put it away in the ninth on a Devin Pogue RBI single, adding an RBI single from Mansanarez, a Skaggs sacrifice fly and a fourth run on a wild pitch.
Wright got the win in relief, allowing an unearned run in three innings of work after
Joel Martin allowed four runs on seven hits in six solid innings. Skaggs was 4-for-5 with four RBI; Mansanarez was 3-for-5; with
Jake Hennessey,
Johnny Hyland, Pogue and Hanson each recording two hits.
Tech starter John Schulz allowed six earned runs in seven innings, but the OIT bullpen was tagged for eight runs in two innings. Moorehead led the Owls offense with four hits and three RBI.
The two teams close out the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.
