(Longview, WA) -- The Lower Columbia baseball team lost its first league game, but still managed to win three of four games with the Clark Penguins.
On Friday April 18th in Vancouver, Lower Columbia won 8-1 and 8-5. The series concluded on Saturday April 19th in Longview with LCC winning 6-0 and then dropping the finale 1-0.
The Devils are now 15-1 in the West, and 37-3 overall.
Friday April 18th
Lower Columbia 8 Clark 1
Chayse Oxborrow and
Dante Santulli were outstanding on the bump for LCC. Oxborrow went six innings scattering five hits and giving up just one run. Santulli came on with three hitless innings and worked around four walks.
Owen Cummins was plunked with the bases loaded in the first.
Jace Nagler's RBI single put LCC up 2-0 in the second.
Up 2-1 in the top of the 7th,
Blake Mattern had the big hit of the game as he hit the ball over the center fielders head for a two run triple. LCC then put the game away with four runs in the 9th highlighted by
Sam Davidson's RBI triple.
Cummins may have been 0 for 3 in the game, but he provided three RBI's.Â
Langan Naylor, Nagler and Davidson all had two hits in the game.
Lower Columbia 8 Clark 5
The Devils jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. Davidson double in a run in the first. Naylor and Nagler had RBI singles in the second.
The Penguins tied up the game with four runs in the bottom of the third against starter
Kaden Larson. Just one of the runs were earned.Â
Aaden Anderson came out of the bullpen and settled things down with three innings of relief, allowing just one earned run.
LCC regained the lead with two runs in the 5th including a Davidson 2 RBI single. Davidson added an RBI base hit in the 7th followed by a
Harlan Rowe sacrifice fly.
Matthew Kosderka collected a five-out save, his NWAC leading 11th of the season. Kosderka is two saves away from tying the LCC school record held by Jared Joaquin.
Saturday April 19th
Lower Columbia 6 Clark 0
Kaden Harris and
Stephen Hammergren were outstanding on the mound. Harris went 5 2/3 shutout innings allowing just two hits. Hammergren allowed no runs and two hits with seven strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of relief.
The Devils were held to just six hits, but they came up with some productive outs.
Garrett Cooper had an RBI groundout in the second.
Matthew Bailey drove in a 4th inning run with a double, the lone extra base hit for LCC. The Devs then scored three runs without a hit in the 7th.
Clark 1 Lower Columbia 0
Looking for the sweep, the Devils got a great pitching performance from
Quinn Hubbs, who was pitching on his 19th birthday.
Hubbs was locked in a pitchers duel with Clark starter Kenneth Hall. Hall allowed just a Cummins single while Hubbs was equally tough with just one hit given up through six.
Clark got a two-out, 7th inning single from Evan McGuire and then he scored the game's only run on an RBI hit by Jase Pashales.
Hall retired the Devils in order in the bottom of the 7th to preserve the win.
Lower Columbia has the bye week and will take a few days off. The scheduled Thursday twin bill with George Fox was cancelled by the Bruins coaching staff. LCC will rest up and get ready for a huge four game series with Tacoma May 3-4. The teams will meet in Tacoma May 3rd and then play a pair at Story Field on May 4th.
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