KEIZER, Ore. – The College of Idaho offense erupted to the tune of 23 hits, eight extra base hits and eight stolen bases, as the Coyotes swept a doubleheader from Corban University at Volcanoes Stadium.
Jake Bowman had four hits in a 10-6 victory in Game 1, while
Tyler Hilton tossed eight strong innings in a 5-2 victory in Game 2.
Nathan Pena threw four-plus innings of scoreless relief to pick up saves in both wins, helping the Yotes (13-18, 7-5 NAIA West) record their first 3-game win streak of the season.
C of I tied a season-high with 15 hits in the opener, including an RBI single from
Carter Vieira in the second inning to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. After the Warriors (8-16-1, 6-6) briefly took a 3-2 lead after a bases-clearing triple from Josh Ebert, the Yotes pulled even on a Vieira fourth inning sacrifice fly and took the lead for good in the on a Bowman RBI single.
An RBI double from
Alec Hopkins in the sixth was followed by a run-scoring triple from
Payton Lewis - breaking the game open.
Connor Root grinded through five and two-thirds innings, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits to earn his third win, with Pena scattering a pair of hits and fanning three to log the save. Bowman was 4-for-5 with two RBI, with Lewis, Mathew Clay and
Caden Jensen all recording two hits.
The Yotes scored two runs in each of the first two innings of Game 2 and never trailed – with
Jon Gonzalez providing an RBI double in the first and Lewis lining an RBI single in the second.
It was more than enough for Hilton, who allowed two runs on eight hits in eight innings of work to pick up his second win of 2019. Pena worked out of a first and second, no-out jam in the ninth to earn the save. Both Lewis and Gonzalez had two hits for the Coyotes, with Warriors catcher Nate Cantonwine going 2-for-4 with both RBI for the hosts.
C of I returns home next weekend, closing out the first half of the NAIA West schedule with a 4-game series vs. British Columbia.
