SURPRISE, Ariz. – Rallying from a 6-0 deficit, the College of Idaho forced extra innings and won today's opener with Ottawa University of Arizona, 12-10, at Surprise Stadium.
Kole Lane had three hits and
Johnny Hyland drove in four in the victory for the Yotes (3-8). OUAZ limited C of I to just four hits in a 4-1 victory in Game 2.
A 6-run fourth inning staked the Spirit (2-7) to the big lead – stringing seven hits in the inning – including a two-out, two-run single from Adrian Salazar.
The Yotes began the rally in the fifth – as an
Austin Van Horne RBI single and a
Dominic Conigliaro sacrifice fly cut the margin to 6-2. Hyland doubled home a pair in the sixth to make it 7-4, and in the seventh,
Jake Bowman singled in a run to bring C of I within 8-5. An error plated a run and a Van Horne two-out RBI single got C of I within a run in the seventh.
Trailing 10-8 in the ninth, C of I took advantage of a walk, a single and a balk to score a run, with a Hyland sacrifice fly tying the score.
After OUAZ stranded the winning run at third in the tenth, C of I grabbed the lead in their next at bat, as
Carter Vieira doubled home and run and trotted in on a Hyland single.
K.J. Strickland earned the victory for C of I – pitching four innings of relief, allowing two runs. Hyland, Van Horne, Bowman, Vieira and
Nate Hundley all had two hits for the Yotes.
C of I was handcuffed by the Spirit staff in Game 2, as reliever Tyler Collins fanned five in three-plus innings of one-hit relief. An RBI single by Josh Meyer and a run-scoring double by Hayden Durkiewicz in the first inning providing the run support for the hosts.
Four different Coyotes had one hit, with
Miles Bigelow going the distance, allowing nine hits in the loss.
The teams close out the four-game set tomorrow with an 11 a.m. single-game.
