EUGENE, OR – Bushnell University edged No. 22 LC State Baseball in both games of Saturday’s Cascade Conference doubleheader. The Beacon took a low-scoring contest in game one by a final of 3-1 despite a strong start by Evan Canfield. The second game needed extra innings before the Beacons walked off 9-8 in the 11th.
The Warriors are in second place in the CCC at 30-12 overall and 26-7 in CCC play. LC State hosts first-place team British Columbia to close out the regular season. UBC leads the conference standings by one game.
GAME ONE: Bushnell def. No. 22 LC State 3-1
LC State struck first with a run in the top of the first. Jack Sheward reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on a walk to Jakob Marquez. Noah Weintraub gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead with an RBI-single.
Canfield struck out five batters in a row to face the minimum in the second and third. Bushnell tied the game with a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. Canfield fanned two more in the fifth to keep the game tied.
The Beacons tallied two hits in the bottom of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead. Canfield struck out two batters to limit the damage and bring his total on the day to 11. Zachary Ediger took over on the mound in the seventh and worked a scoreless frame before Bushnell added a run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 3-1.
The Warriors could not score in the ninth.
STAT RECAP
Warrior pitching was solid in the contest but did not have the offense to get the job done in game one. Canfield threw six innings and struck out 11. He allowed two runs on four hits. Ediger allowed just one run in his two innings.
GAME TWO: Bushnell def. No. 22 LC State 9-8 (11 innings)
LC State plated a pair of runs in the top of the first to take an early lead. Ike George led off the contest with a single up the middle and scored on a double by Sheward. Marquez notched the second double of the frame to drive in the second run. Landon Webb struck out a batter before a double play ended the home half of the inning.
Garrett Bevacqua drove the first pitch of the second inning over the wall in center field to quickly push the lead to 3-0.
Webb and Marquez combined for a double play with a strikeout and runner caught stealing. After a run by Bushnell scored in the inning, Marquez threw out his second runner of the frame to keep the Warriors in front 3-1.
Bevacqua led off the top of the fourth with a base hit and free passes to George and Sheward loaded the bases. Charlie Updegrave grew the LC State advantage to 4-1 with a sacrifice fly.
Bushnell gained momentum with a four-run fourth inning to take a 5-4 lead before Tucker Grote came out of the bullpen to stop the run. The Beacons threatened for more in the fifth before Levi Anderson helped the Warriors out of a bases-loaded jam.
LC State tied things up in the top of the sixth. George walked and Sheward singled before a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with Updegrave aboard. A sacrifice fly by Marquez plated the equalizer. Weintraub walked to reload the bases and Dominic Signorelli put the Warriors back in front 6-5 with a sacrifice fly.
Kolby Solomon came out of the bullpen with Bushnell threatening in the sixth and got the Warriors out of a jam, but a two-run bottom of the seventh had the home team back in front 7-6. Another run in the eighth had the Warriors down 8-6.
LC State answered with two runs un the top of the ninth. Signorelli homered to start the inning to bring the Warriors within one. Cabrera legged out an infield single and Bevacqua moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch put him on third before a base hit by George evened the contest.
Jake Green came on in relief for the second time in the series and got the Warriors out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth. He worked a 1-2-3 10th, but a solo home run by Bushnell’s Jake Stoner in the 11th inning ended the contest.
STAT RECAP
Sheward led the Warriors with four hits and George tallied three. Marquez and Signorelli each drove in two runs.
Webb threw 3.1 innings in his start before handing the ball to Grote to finish the fourth inning. Anderson did not allow a run in his 1.2 innings before Solomon took over for 1.2 innings. Jace Taylor fanned three in 1.1 innings. Jantzen Lucas made an appearance before Green threw the final 1.2 innings. He allowed one run on one hit.
