KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The College of Idaho and Oregon Tech traded emotional blows Saturday at Steen Sports Park, splitting a crucial Cascade Collegiate Conference baseball doubleheader that left both teams staring down a season-defining Sunday finale.
Game one was chaos. Game two was heartbreak.
The Yotes opened the day with a resilient 11-9 victory, surviving a stunning seven-run outburst by the Hustlin' Owls in the bottom of the seventh inning before answering with four runs of their own in the eighth to seize control once more. In the nightcap, Oregon Tech flipped the script, riding a dominant complete-game performance from Carson Glavich and a three-run seventh inning to a 5-1 win that evened the series and reignited the conference tournament race.
In the opener, The College of Idaho built what seemed like a commanding cushion. The Yotes plated runs in five different innings, highlighted by a four-run fourth that featured a
Cody Guy solo home run and a two-run single from
Skye Palmer.
Caden Casagrande was electric at the top of the lineup, finishing 4 for 5 with four runs scored, while Palmer drove in four runs and
Jack Ryan added three RBIs, including a no-doubt, three-run homer to right field in the eighth.
But Oregon Tech refused to fold.
Trailing 7-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Owls erupted for seven runs on six hits, sending 11 men to the plate and briefly flipping the game on its head. Logan Pontecorvo and Dylan Edwards each delivered two-run singles, and Nick Gimino capped the rally with a two-run knock that gave Oregon Tech its first lead of the afternoon.
The Yotes, unfazed, responded immediately. Palmer delivered yet another RBI single before Ryan hammered the momentum-swinging home run, restoring order and silencing the Owls' dugout.
Tate Baird closed the door over the final two innings to earn the save in a game that saw 20 combined runs and nearly three hours of tension.
The nightcap carried a very different tone.
Locked in a 1-1 game through six innings, Oregon Tech broke through in the seventh, capitalizing on walks and timely hits to score three runs and crack the contest open. Logan Macy and Nick Gimino delivered the biggest blows during the decisive frame as the Owls seized momentum they would not relinquish.
The Yotes managed their lone run in the third inning on an RBI single from
Cody Guy.
Heath Sasser-Gunson kept The College of Idaho in striking distance early, striking out seven across six strong innings, but Oregon Tech's patience paid dividends late, punctuated by an insurance run in the eighth.
With the split, everything now funnels into Saturday.
The College of Idaho will clinch the third seed in the conference tournament with a single win in Saturday's doubleheader. Oregon Tech, meanwhile, can lock up the final postseason berth with one victory. If the Hustlin' Owls sweep tomorrow and get help elsewhere in the standings, they can climb as high as the fourth seed.
Two teams, two seasons, and everything left on the line.
The Yotes and Owls conclude the regular season Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon Mountain Time in Klamath Falls.
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