LA GRANDE, Ore. –
Austin Van Horne went 8-for-12 with three doubles, a homer and five RBI, helping The College of Idaho spoil Eastern Oregon's first home games in La Grande since 2006, sweeping a pair of high-scoring games at Optimist Field.
The Coyotes (17-20, 9-13 CCC) used an 8-run eighth inning of Game 1 to earn a 19-16 victory, while rolling to an 11-2 win in the late game. Both contests were played in frigid conditions, with snow showers persistent throughout the evening.
Van Horne keyed a 4-run fifth inning in the opener, lining an RBI double into the right field corner, as C of I rallied from an early 2-0 deficit. An inning later,
Weston Miller capped a 4-run sixth with a 2-run homer, giving the visitors an 8-2 lead.
The Mountaineers (3-19, 3-15) battled back, scoring three in the sixth and batting around for six runs in the seventh – including 2-run singles from Elliot Marks and Carsten Manderbach – to regain the lead at 11-9.
C of I would answer in their next at bats, taking advantage of five walks, two hit by pitches and two wild pitches to score eight, with a 2-out, 2-run
Ryan Nolan single giving the Yotes a 17-11.
Leading 19-11 in the ninth, EOU plated five runs against the Yotes pen, but
Silas Shumate was summoned with the tying run at the plate, fanning Marks to earn his second save.
Van Horne was 4-for-6 with three runs scored,
Matthew Clay went 3-for-6 with four RBI, while
Jonah Hultberg went 3-for-6 with four runs scored – including his second homer of the season. Juan Guardado had four of EOU's 20 hits in the contest.
While the offense continued in Game 2 for the Yotes – pitching was the key.
Jaden Trueblood fanned seven in five-plus innings for the win, while
Wyatt Hankard got the final 11 outs, allowing just an unearned run, for his first save.
Ben Dudley keyed a first inning rally with an RBI double to stake C of I to a lead, with a Van Horne RBI double in the second and a Nolan RBI double in the third pushing the lead to 4-0.
C of I put the game out of reach in the ninth, as Hultberg gapped a 2-run double and Van Horne followed with a towering home run to left – his fifth of the season.
Van Horne was 4-for-6 with four RBI, Dudley went 3-for-3 and Hultberg went 2-for-5 with three runs scored in the victory.
The two teams close out the weekend series tomorrow with a noon doubleheader.
