(Centralia, WA) – The Lower Columbia College baseball team is in an unfamiliar position after the first weekend of West Region games.
Centralia won three of four games against LCC as the Red Devils bats went silent. The Devils are in fifth place in the West Region standings.
Game One in Longview – LCC 12 Centralia 4
The series started well with Lower Columbia pounding out 13 hits in a 12-2 victory.
Leading 3-2 going to the bottom of the 6
th inning, the Devils blew it open with five runs.
Nate Gray Jr.,
Langan Naylor and
Cayden Wotipka all had RBI singles in the frame. A bases loaded hit-by-pitch to
Wren Cecil and a bases loaded walk to
Royce Vandine accounted for the other runs.
The nine inning game ended early when LCC scored three in the 8
th.
Brayden Oram had a two run single and then
Wren Cecil walked it off with an RBI base hit.
Naylor was 3 for 5. Cecil went 2 for 3 with three RBI's.
Starter
Hunter Lutman got the victory with five innings allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out six Blazers.
Relievers
Hayden Morrison and
Kaden Larson were very good. Morrison went two innings of one-hit shutout ball. Larson pitched a clean inning in the 8
th.
Game Two in Longview – Centralia 2 LCC 0
The Red Devils had just one hit as they were handcuffed by Centralia starter Garrett Holpuch.
Oram's third inning single was all LCC could get.
Starter
Jack DeDonato took the loss. The lefty went 2 2/3 innings allowing just two hits and two runs. The Blazers scored on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. It was all they would need.
Stephen Hammergren kept the Devils in the game with 4 1/3 innings of one-hit, shutout baseball. The freshman righthander issued just one walk and struck out four.
Game Three in Centralia – Centralia 2 Lower Columbia 0
Blazer pitching continued to frustrate LCC. The Devils had just two runners on third the entire game and could never get the clutch hit they would need. Centralia starter Garrett Hames went nine innings and allowed just five singles while striking out six.
Noah Imboden was solid with six innings of one-hit ball. Centralia's first run came on a run scoring double play ball.
Hunter Grasser gave up a solo homer to Luke Baier in his two innings of relief.
Game Four in Centralia – Centralia 2 LCC 1
The pitching was again good enough for the Devils, but the offense continued to struggle. Lower Columbia scored its only run on a first inning wild pitch. Naylor and Oram had the only hits for LCC.
Owen Luchies went three scoreless innings scattering three hits.
Josh Mejia took the loss as he went two frames and gave up two runs.
Carson Kruckman had a perfect one inning of work.
The Devils will have some soul searching to do as they head into a four game series with Olympic. The Rangers had the bye in the first weekend of play. Lower Columbia is 1-3 in the West. Pierce is 4-0, Centralia 3-1 and Tacoma and Clark are 2-2.
Saturday's double header will be at Story Field, first pitch at 12 pm. The series then shifts to Bremerton for a 12 pm start on Sunday.
