CALDWELL, Idaho –
Hunter Hanson hit a pair of home runs in a Game 1 victory, with
Bobby Wright going 3-for-3 in the nightcap as the College of Idaho completed a doubleheader sweep of Simpson University at Wolfe Field.
With the wins, the Yotes (33-18, 20-13 NAIA West) moved ahead of Corban into third-place in the NAIA West standings with two games remaining in the regular season. A victory tomorrow guarantees the No. 3 seed in the NAIA West Postseason Tournament, while two wins by the Yotes and two British Columbia losses at Oregon Tech two give C of I the No. 2 seed and host bid for the playoffs.
Hanson was the offense in Game 1, golfing a long solo homer in the first inning to stake the Yotes to an early lead. C of I added to the lead in the third as
Jake Hennessey doubled and scored on a two out error, before the Redhawks (4-49, 3-30) scored an unearned run in the fourth on a Rath Moseley RBI ground out.
In the sixth, Hanson golfed his second homer of the day to right field to extend the lead to 3-1, before SU chased C of I starter
Zach Draper in the eighth, as a Casey Meyer RBI double and a Dylan Mumford RBI single tied the game. However, reliever
Drew Klassen caught Mumford trying to steal home with two outs, making a perfect throw to
Jake Bowman to catch the base runner to end the threat.
C of I regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, as Hanson led off with an infield single and scored on a Cole Mansanaarez RBI double. A
Dalton Ridgway RBI single made it 5-3, with
Johnny Hyland delivering an RBI infield single and
Jake Hennessey plating a run thanks to a Simpson error to give the hosts a four-run lead.
The Yotes would need all of the runs, as the Redhawks scored three runs off the Coyote bullpen in the ninth, but Bowman caught Meyer stealing second base to end the game.
Hanson was 3-for-4 in the win for C of I, with Ridgway adding a pair of hits. Meyer, Mumford and Matthew Kiyota all had two hits for the Redhawks.
Game 2 was all C of I, as the Coyotes took advantage of five SU errors in the victory.
Wright got the Yotes off on the right foot in the first, lining an RBI single to give C of I the early lead. The Coyotes made it 5-0 in the second, plating a run on an Hennessey RBI fielders' choice,
Mitch Skaggs delivered a sacrifice fly; Mananarez had an RBI infield single, while a fourth run scored on a SU error.
C of I extended the lead to 7-0 in the third, as Wright doubled and scored on an error, with
Sam Grise adding a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Sacrifice flies from Grise and
Johnny Hyland in the fifth made it 9-1, with a pinch-hit two-run single from
Austin Moorhouse in the sixth gave the Yotes the 10-run lead need to invoke the run-rule.
Joel Martin got the win, allowing just three hits in five-plus innings, striking out five, while
Russell Sweet got the final five outs, fanning two. Ridgway was 2-for-4 for C of I, stealing two of the Yotes seven bases in the victory.
The two teams close out the regular-season tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.
