CALDWELL, Idaho –
Jonah Hultberg went a combined 7-for-9 with two triples a home run and three RBI, leading The College of Idaho to a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Oregon at Wolfe Field.
The Coyotes (12-11) earned the series win against the Mountaineers with 9-6 and 6-3 victories – as
Erik Wisenor earned the save in both halves of the twinbill.
In Game 1, C of I jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two and a half – as Hultberg and
Ben Hansen lined RBI singles in a 3-run third inning rally. EOU (6-15) battled back, cutting the margin in half on a third inning 2-run homer from Hector Carreon and tying the score at 5-5 in the fourth after a pair of Coyote errors.
The Yotes took the lead for good in the seventh, as
Skyler Sadora walked, moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch. C of I would add a second run in the frame on two EOU errors and tack on two insurance runs in the eighth, keyed by a Hultberg RBI triple.
The Mountaineers cut the margin to 9-6 with an unearned run in the eighth, but
Luke Brewer coaxed a fly ball with the tying run at the plate to end the threat. Wisenor worked around a 2-out error to close out the victory.
Hultberg was 3-for-5 with two runs scored in the win, with
Ben Dudley going 3-for-5 and both Hansen and
Kirby Robertson each recording two hits.
Colby Durski tossed two shutout innings of relief to earn the win.
Game 2 was dominated by the arm of
Andrew Vaughn and the bat of Hultberg.
Hultberg hit the fourth pitch of the game deep over the right field wall for his sixth home run of the season, with
Alex McFarland-Smith adding a first inning run-scoring single.
Vaughn did the majority of the rest – taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finishing with a career-high nine strikeouts in picking up his first win in a C of I uniform.
EOU cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth on a Carsten Manderbach single, but Durski entered and promptly got a ground out and fly out to end the threat.
C of I added to the lead – getting a Sadora RBI single in the seventh and a
Ben Gaff RBI single in the eighth – with Wisenor striking out three of the final four batters to notch the save.
Hultberg went 4-for-4, Dudley went 3-for-4, with Sadora and
Tanner Leaf each logging two hits.
Mitchael Bennett took the loss for EOU, despite striking out seven in six innings of work.
C of I returns to action next weekend, hosting Lewis-Clark State in a 4-game weekend series at Wolfe Field.
