The showdown is set for the NWAC West Region championship. LCC and Tacoma are tied going into a four game set Friday May 12th and Saturday May 13th.
LCC won three of four games over Centralia. The Devils split with the Blazers at Centralia on Saturday May 6th, winning 12-8 and losing 6-4. Sunday at Story Field, LCC won 6-2 and 3-2.
Lower Columbia was down 8-6 after seven innings in the first game Saturday when they rolled six runs in the 8th to take the lead for good.
Trevor Huddleston came on in relief to shut down the Blazers with two innings of one-hit ball. Huddleston got the win. LCC starter
Taylor Davis had a rare off-day as he gave up 11 hits and eight runs in seven frames.
Jordan Barchus had a good game at the plate going 2 for 4 with three RBI's. Davis helped offensively with two RBI's.
Cameron Campbell was 2 for 5 with two RBI.
Tyler Parsons also had a sub-par outing in the second game Saturday. The lefty pitched a complete game, but gave up 11 hits, two homers and six runs.
The Devils could muster just four hits in the game.
Kyle Sandstrom,
Corey Conklin and
Chase Hodkinson all had a hit and an RBI.
The scene shifted to Longview on a gorgeous sunny Sunday at Story Field.
Nick Tabura and
Anthony Garcia split the pitching chores, each giving up just one run. Tabura went five innings of four-hit ball and Garcia gave up just four hits in his four innings of work.
Ricky Muzzy led off the game with a triple and finished three hits, an RBI and two runs.
Barchus went 2 for 4 with two RBI's. Hodkinson also had two hits in four at-bats.
The pesky Blazers scored two runs in the 5th inning of the second game to get within one run. Devils starter
Jared Akin would not be denied as he extinguished the rally and went on to the complete game victory. Akin allowed six hits, two runs, struck out five and raised his record to 5-0 with a 1.31 ERA.
Campbell and Huddleston had two hits each. Campbell and Muzzy each drove in a run.
The Devils got some help when Green River defeated Tacoma once in that NWAC four game set. That means LCC and Tacoma will get together with identical 17-3 league marks.
The first two games will be at Tacoma on Friday May 12th at 1 pm. The series shifts to Longview for games three and four at Story Field on Saturday May 13th, also at 1 pm.
The Devils need to win three of the four games to win the league title and clinch an automatic berth in the NWAC tournament. The second place team would host a Super Regional May 19-20.
Saturday's games will be part of the LCC Foundation Alumni Day. The first 200 LCC Alumni will receive a T-Shirt and there will be plenty of giveaways and drawings as well as free ice cream.
