WARRIORS RUN OVER WILDCATS LEWIS-CLARK STATE SWEEPS CWU 13-0, 11-0 TO ADVANCE TO AREA PLAYOFFS

Central Washington must have seen this coming. Lewis-Clark State certainly offered ample warning.

The Warriors were tough on CWU a week ago, but on Saturday they were merciless. They trottled the Ellensburg ballclub 13-0 and 11-0 at Harris Field to claim the NAIA District 1 championship in the first stage of their annual postseason journey.

Next up is the Area 1 Tournament, a meeting of the NAIA's four westernmost district champions Point Loma Nazarene, Hawaii Pacific, George Fox and L-C , which begins Thursday on the George Fox campus in Newberg, Ore.

And from there ...

''We're taking it one step at a time,'' said Warriors right fielder Liko Periera, for a moment disregarding the obvious: The area champion moves on to Des Moines for the NAIA World Series. ''But if we keep clicking like we did today, I think we'll be fine.''

Every facet of the Warriors' game seemed to be in place Saturday, much to the chagrin of a CWU team that was outhit, outpitched and simply outmatched.

''We knew we had our work cut out for us,'' said Wildcat coach Desi Storey, ''but wow .''

Storey, who witnessed the awesome potential of L-C's batting order in last week's three-game Warrior sweep in Lewiston, on Saturday saw a devastating combination of healthy hitting and overpowering pitching.

While L-C pounded out 25 hits over the two games played before an estimated crowd of 1,200, Warrior pitchers short-circuited CWU's capable offense.

Kelton Jacobson threw a three-hit shutout in the opener, which was halted in the middle of the seventh inning by mutual consent of Storey and L-C coach Ed Cheff.

In the nightcap, in which L-C (46-14)was designated as the visiting team, Scott Baldwin carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, losing it to a one-out single by second baseman Loren Sandhop. Jeremy Fields, who came on in relief in the ninth, gave up another single before finishing off the Wildcats (15-20).

''That's the kind of games we expect out of (Jacobson and Baldwin),'' Cheff said. ''The key now is to get our third and fourth starters and our bullpen to step up. That's what's going to make the difference.''

Twenty years after its first District 1 title, L-C claimed its 13th consecutive crown when partipating in the district playoffs. The Warriors bypassed the district and area tournaments from 1984 to 1991 because they received an automatic host berth to the World Series.

L-C has now won nine straight playoffs over CWU, the last seven by way of two-game sweeps.

While Jacobson (6-1) toyed with the Wildcats throughout the opener, striking two and walking as many, L-C immediately unleased an offensive barrage on CWU starter Ben Lindholm (6-5).

The Warriors picked two runs in the first inning on RBI singles by first baseman Mike Burns and third baseman Jake Taylor then added three in the second by way of a two-run triple from second baseman Todd Wilson and another RBI single by Burns.

Wilson drove in another run with a single in the fourth to make it 6-0.

L-C exploded for seven runs in the fifth, sending 10 batters to the plate and picking up four hits including a two-run double by Periera and run-scoring raps by catcher Alex Figueroa and designated hitter Shawn Lopez.

Periera, solidifying his spot as L-C's leadoff batter, had two hits, two RBI and scored four runs in the opener.

''I didn't figure we would have any problem scoring, so I was just hoping to keep (CWU) from puttting anything together,'' Jacobson said. ''I'd didn't really have my good fastball today, but it was moving quite a bit. That's what really kept me going.''

Baldwin, who had 10 strikeouts to match a season high, said his flirtation with a no-hitter was all the motivation he needed.

''After I lost it, I started to feel a little tired,'' the senior left-hander said. ''But before that I felt pretty strong.''

Baldwin, who allowed just five baserunners two Wildcats reached on back-to-back L-C errors in the first inning walked two and hit one batter in collecting his 10th victory against one loss.

''It's really neat for Baldwin to throw his best game in his last appearance at Harris Field,'' Cheff said. ''He's thrown a lot of games here, but I don't think he's been any better than he was today.''

In support of Baldwin, the Warriors again got off quickly, this time against CWU's Dave Wensveen (6-1).

L-C rung up two tallies in the first inning with a RBI groundout from Burns and an infield error, then struck five times in the third behind a two-run triple by left fielder Brad Bowden, and RBI single by designated hitter Ray Judy and a pair of errors.

Periera singled in a run in the fifth, Taylor, on after being hit by a pitch, scored on a wild pitch in the sixth and Periera and shortstop Brandy Bengoechea capped the evening with successive RBI doubles in the ninth.

''We're a little disappointed with the way we played,'' Storey said. ''This is our World Series. ''L-C is the best team in the nation and they prove that year in and year out.''

The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the final NAIA top 25 poll, will almost assuredly be seeded No. 1 in the Area 1 Tournament. The seeding process and the pairings will be completed this afternoon.

FIRST GAME

CWU LEWIS-CLARK STATE Sandhop,2b 2 0 0 0 Periera,rf 2 4 2 2 Townsend,3b 3 0 0 0 Judy,rf 0 0 0 0 Milligan,cf 2 0 1 0 Bengoechea,ss 2 2 0 1 Valley,dh 3 0 0 0 Banuelos,ss 0 0 0 0 Zehnder,lf 3 0 0 0 Wilson,2b 4 1 2 3 Ashmore,1b 3 0 1 0 Burns,1b 4 1 2 3 Worley,c 3 0 1 0 Taylor,3b 3 1 1 1 Gonzales,cr 0 0 0 0 Bowden,c 4 1 3 0 Knight,rf 2 0 0 0 Figueroa,c 3 1 1 1 Clem,rf 1 0 0 0 Anderson,lf 1 0 0 0 Richards,ss 2 0 0 0 Lopez,dh 4 1 1 1 Totals 24 0 3 0 Daniel,cf 2 1 0 0 Totals 29 13 12 12 Central Washington 000 000 00 2 Lewis-Clark State 230 170 x13 12 2Central Washington Ben Lindholm (L,6-5) 4 10 10 10 2 3 David Zirkle 2 1 3 2 1 1 Lewis-Clark State Kelton Jacobson (W,6-1) 7 3 0 0 2 2

SECOND GAME LEWIS-CLARK STATE CWU Periera,rf 4 2 2 2 Sandhop,2b 4 0 1 0 Bengoechea,ss 6 1 2 1 Townsend,3b 4 0 0 0 Wilson,2b 4 1 1 0 Milligan,cf 3 0 0 0 Banuelos,2b 1 0 0 0 Zehnder,lf 3 0 0 0 Burns,1b 5 1 1 1 Huddleston,lf 1 0 0 0 Taylor,3b 4 2 1 0 Ashmore,dh 2 0 0 0 Bowden,c 4 1 1 2 Valley,dh 2 0 0 0 Wayt,ph 1 0 0 0 Fenton,1b 3 0 1 0 Figueroa,c 2 0 0 0 Worley,c 3 0 0 0 Anderson,lf 2 2 2 0 Clem,rf 2 0 0 0 Judy,dh 5 1 2 1 Knight,rf 1 0 0 0 Daniel,cf 3 0 1 0 Richards,ss 3 0 0 0 Lopez,ph 1 0 0 0 Totals 31 0 2 0 Totals 42 11 13 7 Lewis-Clark State 205 011 00211 13 2Central Washington 000 000 0000 2 3Lewis-Clark State Scott Baldwin (W,9-1) 8 1 0 0 2 10 Jeremy Fields 1 1 0 0 0 0 Central Washington Dave Wensveen (L,6-1) 6 9 9 6 2 5 Sean Sehlin 3 4 2 2 0 3