PHOENIX, Ariz. –
Tate Spivey went 4-for-9 with four RBI on the day, as the College of Idaho split a pair of games on Day 2 of the 4-Him Classic at Gene Autry Park.
In their morning contest, the Coyotes (1-2) stranded 12 runners in a 7-5 loss to No. 14 ranked The Master's, while jumping out to a 10-2 lead in their evening contest against Providence Christian, claiming a 16-7 victory.
In the win,
Gaige Kepner pitched two and a third innings of scoreless relief after the Sea Beggars (1-5) used a five-run fifth to cut the deficit to 10-7.
K.J. Strickland got the victory on the mound, allowing two earned runs in four-plus innings of work.
The Yotes (1-2) scored four times in the first – getting a big two-run double from
Chase Labbe and an RBI single from
Jake Bowman. An inning later, C of I added four more runs – as
Dominic Conigliaro provided the big blow with a two-run single.
After PCC took advantage of a two-out error to plate five runs in the fifth, the Coyotes broke the game open in the sixth – batting around for six runs – with Spivey clearing the bases with a three-run triple.
Spivey had three hits in the win;
Johnny Hyland was 2-for-3 with an RBI and four runs scored; Bowman was 2-for-3 with two RBI; while
Nate Hundley scored three runs.
In the early game, the Mustangs (4-1) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half – getting a two-run single by Jaiden France in the first and a Rusty Shackleford RBI single in the second.
C of I pulled even – as
Jon Gonzalez doubled home a run and Hyland lifted a sacrifice fly in the second, while an inning later, Conigliaro scored on a TMU balk.
The Mustangs took the lead with a pair of two-out runs in the fourth and after C of I stranded the tying runners in both the fourth and fifth innings, got a Shackleford RBI triple in the sixth to extend the lead to 7-3.
The Yotes cut the deficit in half in the sixth – plating a run on an error and another on a Conigliaro RBI double - but stranded the tying runs on base.
Conigliaro had the lone multi-hit game for the Yotes, going 2-for-4, with
Miles Bigelow taking the loss, allowing four earned runs in four innings. Reliever
Grayson Wilkie tossed a 1-2-3 fifth inning and
Maverick Williams fanned two in an inning and two-thirds out of the pen.
France and Shackleford each had two hits for the Mustangs.
C of I closes out tournament play tomorrow morning, meeting Arizona Christian at 9 a.m.
