Warriors third baseman Pu’ukani De Sa picked a good time to hit his first home run of the season.
The junior hammered a three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 9-6 Lewis-Clark State win in Game 1, but College of Idaho spoiled the sweep with a 6-5 extra-innings victory in Game 2 of a Cascade Conference baseball doubleheader Friday at Harris Field.
In the second game, the Yotes (24-21, 12-6) used a four-hit, two-run 10th inning to hand the fourth-ranked Warriors (39-4, 10-3) just their fourth loss of the season.
“C of I competed all day. We knew they were going to give us everything they have, and they showed that today,” LCSC coach Jake Taylor said. “They’ve been playing great baseball the past couple weeks. They came after us today.”
The first game was a back-and-forth affair with the Warriors building a 4-0 lead through four innings, only to see it become a 4-4 tie in a wild sixth. That inning featured a Ben Gaff two-run double and a run on an errant throw from first base for the Yotes.
LCSC’s A.J. Davis brought home Coy Stout in the next inning before the team’s unlikely hero stepped to the plate.
De Sa — who has split time at third base this season with Stout and Dominic Signorelli — belted his first home run well over the wall in right-center, scoring Davis and Matt James. The three-run shot gave the Warriors an 8-4 advantage and brought home the same number of runs as the team’s final margin of victory.
De Sa became the 13th Warrior to hit a homer this year.
“He’s had some real good at-bats the last couple weeks and in practice,” Taylor said. “He competes well. I was happy for him and kind of gave us a little cushion there in the first game.”
The win in that one went to LCSC reliever Cameron Smith (4-0), who fanned six batters in 3ž innings. Smith’s 32ž innings pitched this season are fourth on the team despite no starts — a testament to his reliability as a top reliever.
“Cam competes hard, pounds the zone with multiple pitches,” Taylor said of the sophomore right-hander. “He works with great tempo so our defense likes to play behind him. He throws a lot of strikes. He got after them today. He was real sharp.”
LCSC was 5-0 on the season against the Yotes heading into the second game, but C of I was determined to end the carnage.
The Warriors held a slim 4-3 lead for five innings going into the top of the ninth, needing just three more outs for a sweep. Instead, the Yotes got their first two batters on with singles and Kirby Robertson scampered home on a wild pitch by LCSC’s Trevin Hope to tie it at 4.
The Warriors entered the bottom of the ninth with the top of their order at the plate, but they couldn’t take advantage, going three up, three down to head to extra innings for the first time this season.
C of I quickly got two runners on base in the 10th. The Yotes’ Alex McFarland-Smith was thrown out at third base trying to turn a double into a triple, but not before bringing home Jonah Hultberg and Skyler Sadora for a 6-4 lead. The team’s closer Erik Wisenor sealed the win with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out sandwiched in between a Luke White homer, his team-leading 15th of the season.
The win went to Colby Durski (6-1). LCSC’s Greg Blackman (4-2) pitched one inning and absorbed the loss.
Davis, a senior second baseman from Clarkston High School, went 4-of-8 with two runs and three RBI to pace the Warriors at the plate on the day. Hultberg and Sadora (four hits, four runs apiece) powered the Yotes from the top of their order.
All four of LCSC’s losses this season have come by a run. The Warriors dropped two to Corban earlier this month and one to Arizona Christian on Feb. 3.
“We know we have a really good ballclub and in baseball, you’re going to drop some games,” Taylor said. “Credit to C of I. Our pitching staff still has thrown well this year, our defense has been fantastic all year and we just need to score more runs.
“I thought we hit the ball alright today. We just hit a lot of balls at guys. It’s the way baseball goes.”
GAME 1
COLLEGE OF IDAHO LEWIS-CLARK STATE
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Hultberg 2b 5 1 1 0 Way ss 2 0 0 0
Sadora 1b 4 2 2 1 Threlfall lf 4 0 0 0
McFarland rf 4 1 1 1 Phillips lf 0 0 0 0
Dudley lf 4 0 0 0 Nagle rf 5 1 1 0
Goetz ph 1 0 0 0 Linscott cf 5 0 2 1
Gaff ss 4 1 1 2 White 1b 5 1 2 0
Robertson dh 3 0 0 0 Mazzone c 2 0 0 0
Castillo pr 0 1 0 0 Stout pr 0 2 0 0
Denison 3b 4 0 2 0 James dh 3 3 1 0
Danner c 4 0 1 0 Davis 2b 3 1 2 3
Hansen pr 0 0 0 0 Sa 3b 4 1 1 3
Watkins cf 3 0 0 0
Miller ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 37 6 8 4 Totals 33 9 9 7
College of Idaho 000 004 002—6 8 2
Lewis-Clark State 010 300 41x—9 9 3
College of Idaho ip h r er bb so
Brewer 3 3 4 3 3 0Durski 1 0 0 0 1 0
Robertson (L, 2-4) 2.2 2 2 2 2 1
Wood 0.1 2 2 2 0 0
Lapp 1 2 1 0 0 0
Lewis-Clark State ip h r er bb so
Sellers 5.1 5 4 3 2 5
Smith (W, 4-0) 3.2 3 2 2 0 6
GAME 2
COLLEGE OF IDAHO LEWIS-CLARK STATE
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Hultberg 2b 5 3 3 0 Way ss 5 1 2 1
Sadora 1b 5 2 2 2 Threlfall lf 5 0 1 1
McFarland rf 5 0 2 3 Phillips lf 0 0 0 0
Castillo lf 0 0 0 0 Canty lf 0 1 0 0
Robertson dh 5 1 4 0 Nagle rf 5 0 2 1
Gaff ss 5 0 2 0 Linscott cf 5 0 0 0
Denison 3b 4 0 0 0 White 1b 5 1 1 1
Danner lf 1 0 0 0 Mazzone dh 3 0 0 0
Dudley lf 3 0 0 0 Updegrave dh 1 0 1 0
Miller c 4 0 0 0 James c 4 0 1 0
Watkins cf 4 0 0 0 Sheward c 0 0 0 0
Sa ph 1 0 0 0
Davis 2b 5 1 2 0
Signorelli 3b 4 1 1 1
Totals 41 6 13 5 Totals 43 5 11 5
College of Idaho 201 000 001 2—6 13 3
Lewis-Clark State 100 300 000 1—5 11 0
College of Idaho ip h r er bb so
Vaughn 4 8 4 4 0 0
Durski (W, 6-1) 5 1 0 0 1 3
Wisenor (S, 11) 1 2 1 1 0 2
Lewis-Clark State ip h r er bb so
Chavarria 6 7 3 3 0 7
Hope 3 2 1 1 0 4
Blackman (L, 4-2) 1 4 2 2 0 2
Attendance — N/A.
Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.
