KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. –
Richard Walker spun a complete game 2-hitter, with
Matthew Clay rapping a ninth inning go-ahead RBI single, helping the College of Idaho split a road doubleheader at Oregon Tech.
The Yotes (14-23, 8-10 NAIA West) ended a 5-game losing streak with a 3-2 win in Game 2, while OIT used three 2-run innings to claim a 6-5 victory in the opener.
Walker allowed a first inning 2-run double by Emmett Covello, but retired the next 13 batters in a row, as Tech (9-26, 3-15) had just three base runners the rest of the game. The junior struck out nine batters and did not allow another hit until the ninth inning.
C of I chipped away at the deficit, as
Carter Vieira doubled home a run in the second, with a seventh inning pinch-hit RBI single from
Jon Gonzalez tying the score. In the ninth, consecutive 2-out hits from
Chase Labbe and Clay pushed
Payton Lewis around the bags to score the go-ahead run.
Drew Ochsner,
Austin Van Horne, Clay and Labbe all had two hits for the Yotes.
Game 1 was a back-and-forth affair – as the two teams traded the lead five times.
Zxavian Gonzales got Tech on the board with a 2-run double in the second, but the Coyotes answered with a third inning Van Horne RBI single and took the lead in the fifth on a 2-run Van Horne double. OIT regained the edge in the bottom of the inning on an Austin Zavala 2-run homer, only to see a Clay RBI single and a double steal give the visitors the lead in the sixth at 5-4. Tech took the lead for in the bottom of the frame, as Micah Jio lined a 2-run double.
The Yotes lost despite outhitting OIT, 14-10 – with Clay and Lewis each recording 3-hit games.
The two teams close out the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.
