LEWISTON, Idaho — The College of Idaho baseball season came to an end Saturday with a 13-10 loss to Oregon Tech in an elimination game of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships presented by US Bank at Harris Field.
The Yotes jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the first and two more in the second to build a 4-0 advantage.
Skye Palmer opened the scoring with an RBI groundout in the first, before
Darren Smith added an RBI double later in the inning.
Cody Guy drove in a pair with a single in the second to keep the momentum going.
Oregon Tech chipped away with a two-run home run in the third, but The College of Idaho answered again in the fourth, taking advantage of pressure on the bases and a sacrifice fly from Guy to extend the lead to 6-2. The Owls responded with a four-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie things up, setting the tone for a back-and-forth contest the rest of the way.
Smith and
Pete Bacon delivered key swings in the fifth, with Smith homering to right and Bacon driving in a run with a double to push the Yotes back in front. Oregon Tech answered again with a two-run homer, then added two more in the sixth to take an 8-10 lead.
The Yotes were not finished. A two-run home run by
Jack Ryan in the seventh gave The College of Idaho a 10-10 tie, marking the team's third homer of the game. Oregon Tech broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run home run, and the Yotes were unable to answer in the ninth.
Smith led The College of Idaho at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double, home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Guy finished with three RBIs, while Ryan added two RBIs on his seventh homer of the season. Bacon recorded two doubles and an RBI, and
James Hull reached base twice and scored twice.
The loss ended a strong 2026 campaign for The College of Idaho, which finished the season 29-21 overall. Hull capped an impressive year batting .330 with a team-best 64 hits and 24 stolen bases.
Caden Casagrande hit .304 with five home runs and a .449 on-base percentage, while Guy and Ryan provided consistent power and run production in the middle of the lineup. On the mound,
Heath Sasser-Gunson anchored the staff with a 3.40 ERA over 55.2 innings, and
Willy Shirts tied for the team lead with seven wins out of the bullpen.
Despite the early exit from the conference tournament, the Yotes put together one of the program's most competitive seasons in recent years, blending veteran leadership with emerging contributors across the diamond.
