CALDWELL, Idaho – College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon played a pair of completely different games to open their 4-game Cascade Conference series, as the Yotes and Mountaineers split a doubleheader at windy Wolfe Field.
The Coyotes (10-11, 2-4 CCC) took advantage of 12 EOU walks to post their highest run total since the 2015 season in a 17-7 victory in the opener, before the Mountaineers rode a 136-pitch gem from Nick Jennings in the nightcap to claim a 2-0 win – their first since returning to the diamond after a 15-year hiatus.
C of I pounded out 16 hits in their win – using a 6-run second and sixth innings to outlast the Mountaineers (1-5, 1-1).
The Yotes needed just three hits in their second inning outburst – as three walks and two wild pitches aided the hosts in the frame.
Jonah Hultberg slapped an RBI single to give C of I a 2-1 lead and
Matthew Clay ripped a 2-run single to add to the lead.
EOU chipped away at the deficit, cutting the margin to 7-5 in the sixth inning, but the hosts put the game away in their final two at bats. C of I had three doubles in the sixth inning rally – with
Weston Miller gapping a 2-bagger to plate a pair and
Ryan Nolan adding another RBI double. Miller added a 2-run single in the seventh, with Hultberg drawing a bases loaded walk to end the game due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Dimick Wood got his first win of the season, striking out six batters in six innings of work, while all nine starters in the lineup recording at least one hit. Miller finished 3-for-5 with four RBI, with
Carter Vieira,
Austin Van Horne and
Tanner Leaf all posting 2-hit games.
Game 2 was the complete opposite, as pitching dominated the afternoon. Jennings and C of I starter Eric Wisenor went toe-to-toe, with single Mountie runs in the third and eighth innings providing the only offense.
A 2-out walk after a 10-pitch at bat to Easton Watterson in the third was followed by a Brooks Dyer RBI double to give EOU a 1-0 lead, with the visitors scratching a run across on a Tristan Fergus sacrifice fly in the eighth.
It was more than enough for Jennings, who allowed just five hits in his complete game effort – striking out 10 Coyotes and limiting just one runner to reach third base.
Wisenor was the tough-luck loser, allowing just one run on three hits, striking out six in five strong innings.
Colby Durski provided key relief, entering the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth and coaxing a double play ball and a strikeout to get out of the jam unscathed.
Clay had two hits in the loss for C of I, with Vieira and
Dillon Danner both recording doubles.
The two teams close out the weekend series tomorrow with a noon doubleheader.
NOTES:
- The 17-runs by the Yotes were the most since a 17-5 victory over the University of Mary on March 1, 2015
- Hultberg and Van Horne each extended their consecutive games reached base streak – Hultberg to 23 games (dating back to 2020) and Van Horne to 21
- The win for EOU was their first since April 29, 2006 – an extra inning win vs. Concordia and their first over C of I since 2005
