CALDWELL, Idaho – A five-run fifth inning erased a Lewis-Clark State lead and the College of Idaho bullpen tossed four shutout innings, as the Coyotes defeated the No. 4-ranked Warriors, 6-4, in the nightcap of today's doubleheader at Wolfe Field.
LCSC (28-8, 18-4 NAIA West) held off a C of I rally for a 7-5 win in the opener, before the Yotes erased a 4-0 deficit to snap a 13-game losing streak.
The visitors bolted to the four-run lead after two innings – as Cory Voss singled home a run in the first and capped a three-run second with a two-run homer to left field.
The Yotes (11-32, 4-23) answered in a big way in the fifth, batting around to take the lead.
Jake Bowman reached on an infield single;
Nate Hundley followed with a single to right; and
Johnny Hyland was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Chase Labbe singled to get C of I on the board and
Dylan Mansanarez plated a run with an infield out – chasing LCSC starter Anthony Toribio. Reliever Kade Woods helped the Yotes out – walking the first three men he faced – including bases loaded free passes to
Carter Vieira and
Ryan Murkle, to tie the score.
Dominic Conigliaro capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to give the Yotes a 5-4 lead.
After starter
K.J. Strickland grinded through five-plus innings, Conigliaro took over on the mound – working out of a first and second, no out jam in the sixth – tossing two shutout frames. He was given an insurance run in the sixth, as Hyland stole home on a double steal attempt to extend the lead to 6-4. The Yotes nearly made it 8-4 in the seventh, but Thomas Lampkin took a home run away from Bowman with a two-out catch over the left field wall.
Gaige Kepner got the first two outs in the eighth for the Yotes, but after a hit by pitch and walk,
Miles Bigelow entered and coaxed Voss to ground out to end the threat and worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to log his second save of the year.
Labbe and Murkle each had two hits in the win for C of I, as the three relievers did not allow an LCSC hit.
C of I took a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the opener, as Hyland scored on a wild pitch and Van Horne hit his team-best third homer of the season. L-C evened the score with a pair of runs in the second and took the lead in the fifth, as a two-run Riley Way single was the big blow in a three-run inning.
Trailing 7-2, the Yotes battled back in the seventh, as Hundley singled home a run and Hyland drove home two with a base hit. In the ninth, C of I loaded the bases with one out, but Gage Burland entered and got Labbe to ground into a double play to end the game.
Tyler Burch earned the win for the Warriors, allowing five runs in six-plus innings.
Hundley went 3-for-4 in the loss for C of I, with
Niall Manning taking the loss, walking seven batters in six innings of work.
The two teams close the season series and C of I's home schedule tomorrow with a noon contest.
