CALDWELL, Idaho – The College of Idaho baseball team swept a doubleheader, 5-4 and 14-5, against Lewis-Clark State on Saturday afternoon.
The Yotes (8-9) started the day, overcoming a 4-2 deficit to plate three runs on a three-run home run by
Alex McFarland-Smith in the seventh to post a 5-4 win over the preseason nationally-ranked Warriors. For McFarland-Smith, it was his second hit of the doubleheader. The Yotes right fielder had two of the five hits for College of Idaho in the win.
College of Idaho scored the first two runs of the game, picking up a run in the second and fourth before LC State came back with four with two outs in the fifth on five hits.
In the bottom of the seventh and after a fielder's choice and a hit by pitch put runners on first and second for McFarland-Smith. The Boise native ripped a 1-0 pitch deep to left center and over the Wolfe Field fence to lift the spirits in the Yotes dugout for his third home run of the season. Relievers
Colby Durski and
Jackson Cummins pitched an inning of scoreless relief to make a winner out of
Nate Vidlak, who scattered seven hits and struck out eight for his second win on the season.
The nightcap saw College of Idaho take advantage of five errors, ten walks and pound out nine hits in a 14-5 win to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Darren Smith and
Ben Gaff each had two hits and
Jordan Kelly had three RBI to go along with a pair by Smith and
Austin Moon.
After four innings of play, College of Idaho had built an 8-0 lead before the Warriors got on the scoreboard in the sixth with a run and four more in the eighth to make it an 8-5 contest. The Yotes bats came back alive in its half of the eighth with a six-run inning. Two of the six runs came in on a pinch-hit two RBI single by Moon and they capitalized on four walks by Warrior pitching.
For the Yotes,
Oliver Massie went six innings and struck out nine before he handed the ball over to the bullpen as he got his first win on the season.
The two teams will meet up for the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
