CALDWELL, Idaho – College of Idaho baseball split a doubleheader with Bushnell, losing game one by a 13-11 margin and taking game two by a 10-8 advantage to win the series.
Before the doubleheader, College of Idaho honored its seniors for its contributions to the success of the program, on and off the field.
The Yotes (27-16, 11-9 CCC), who won three of the four games, continued its offensive prowess in the two games with 15 hits in game one and 16 hits in game two. Game one saw
Tristen Garland and
Dillon Danner each record three hits and
Jonah Hultberg,
Kirby Robertson and
Ben Gaff each had two hits in the loss. Robertson drove in four,
Skyler Sadora and Hultberg each had two RBI.
The Beacons (22-20, 10-10) erased a 9-0 deficit with a two-run fourth and eight-run seventh on its way to the 13-11 win. The eight-run seventh saw Bushnell hit three home runs including a three-run by Jeff Fripp for his second roundtripper that put the visitors ahead 10-9. College of Idaho regained the lead in its half of the seventh but Bushnell came back with three in the ninth on its way to the 13-11 win.
Fripp along with Jordan Wilson finished with four RBI to complement its three hits, plus Reece Carganill and Cayden Delozier each had four hits to lead an 18-hit attack.
Game two saw College of Idaho be the comeback heroes as they overcame a 7-1 deficit with a six-run fourth inning to tie the game at 7. Then, the host Yotes went ahead with two more in the sixth and another run in the seventh for a 10-7 lead on the visitors from Eugene. The Beacons plated the final run in the ninth for the final margin.
The two teams combined for 31 hits – 15 for Bushnell and 16 for College of Idaho. Six Yotes had multiple hits including three hits from
Jake Denison and two each from
Dillon Danner,
Alex McFarland-Smith,
Ben Gaff,
Kirby Robertson and
Jordan Kelly in the win.
The comeback started in the fourth as College of Idaho sent 12 batters to end the day for the Bushnell starting pitcher. Four-different Yotes picked up a RBI and six recorded a hit to tie the game at 7. With the game tied at 7 in the sixth, RBI singles by
Kirby Robertson and
Ben Gaff put College of Idaho ahead 9-7. They added another run in the eighth on a RBI single by
Dillon Danner to stretch the lead to 10-7. Bushnell plated a run in the ninth for the final margin.
Next, College of Idaho will travel to Eastern Oregon for a four-game series, next Friday and Saturday to wrap up the regular season with a possible Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament berth on the line.
