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Mar. 10—The Warriors are riding a rollercoaster.
On Saturday, the Lewis-Clark State baseball team crossed home plate 31 times in a pair of victories over its Cascade Conference foe, Bushnell (Ore.).
On Sunday, the Warriors mustered six hits and lost to that same Beacons team 5-4.
Baseball, like any sport, can be an emotional game.
"We're going to have some ups and downs, but we've got to stay neutral and grow and develop," LC State coach Jeremiah Robbins said. "We can't ride the roller coaster, and right now we're riding it. They'll understand it. I think yesterday is a great wake-up call."
Six Warriors combined to launch eight doubles in LC State's 16-8 Game 1 win. Then, Brandon Nguyen and Kason O'Neil vaulted grand slams in back-to-back innings while Landon Webb and Moscow's Levi Anderson sailed to seven solid innings to give the Warriors a 15-3 mercy rule Game 2 win.
Sunday was a bit of a pitchers' duel for eight innings.
The Warriors (14-3, 6-3) led 2-1 going into the ninth, before Bushnell jumped on Tyler Logan and Jace Taylor for four runs in the top of the ninth.
Logan dispatched his first batter in a lefty-on-lefty matchup, but then allowed the next runner aboard.
Robbins said he brought Taylor, who has played multiple relief roles so far, including leverage innings, in to get what the Warriors hoped to be the game's final two outs.
However, Bushnell had other plans, smacking the ball around the yard and capitalizing on a bobbled would-be double play to take a 4-2 lead.
"It was an odd ninth for us. It's one that we haven't had all year. Usually, we have an inning like that earlier in the game. We have more time to get readjusted," Robbins said. "But that's what's awesome about baseball. There's so many learning moments."
The Warriors attempted a comeback, but fell one run short.
"We competed to win two games, so that was good to see," Robbins said of the Bushnell series. "And then 'Jekyll and Hyde,' we're a whole different team on Sunday, so I think Sunday showed our immaturity as a team."
Robbins pointed to stretches where the Warriors will go multiple innings without a single hit and then score the bulk of their runs in one. That kind of bunched scoring is far from uncommon, but the extreme outcome of going down 1-2-3 for multiple frames is a sign of the team's inexperience, Robbins said.
The Warriors can't fall into the trap of letting failure roll into future failure.
Relative to some of his teammates, LC State second baseman Izzy Madariaga is one of the more experienced guys on the team, with 106 at-bats last year in his first season at LC State.
Robbins said that when Madariaga is relaxed in the batter's box, he can consistently smack line drives and ground balls up the middle or to right-center. That's what he did in the ninth inning on Sunday to put LCSC within one of the Beacons with a two-run single.
However, in moments where Madariaga is anxious and wants to carry the team, he can rush his at-bats and get a little pull-heavy, Robbins said.
Jackson Reed, a four-year player at Seattle U who transferred to LCSC, has thrived in an everyday role.
Reed is hitting .326 through 46 at-bats. His five extra-base hits and 15 walks have helped him settle into the middle of LC State's order.
"He's a special talent," Robbins said of Reed. "He's got some juice in his bat too, that will come later in the year."
Robbins said that Reed is learning how to handle the breaking ball.
The players aren't the only ones who are growing and improving each week.
"For me, being (my) first year back, there's a lot of growth on my end as well of putting guys in the right position and finding out (how they handle it)," Robbins said. "We did that throughout the day on Sunday, and (it) kind of backfired on us."
Robbins is no rookie, though. His six previous years at LC State and three national championship campaigns are a good measure of the fact that he'll figure out which guys to play where.
It's also a good bet that the Warriors, who are chasing British Columbia in the CCC standings early in the season, will find their way off the emotional rollercoaster, eventually.
"Who we are in April will be a lot different than who we are in March," Robbins said.
Now, the Warriors turn their attention to their longest road trip of the season — a 509-mile, nine-hour trip to play Oregon Tech.
Robbins said he has great respect for OIT coach Ricky Walker and the culture he is building for his program that has propelled the Owls into the mix for postseason spots in recent years.
"It's (OIT) versus LC state. They're going to be ready for us," Robbins said. "We better be ready to go. And that's what's awesome about this. We got five days of practice. Get ready to go. We gotta flush yesterday. Move on to the next opponent. Be ready to rock and roll."
Sunday's box score
Bushnell 5, Lewis-Clark State 4
Bushnell 001 000 004—5 6 3
LC State 000 010 012—4 6 1
Keamo, Schwenk (7), Mallari (8), Yacapin (9) and Richards and Gasper (8); Cloud, Lennartson (6), Logan (9), Taylor (9) and Ephan.
W — Mallari (1-0); L — Taylor (2-1).
Bushnell hits — Carson 2 (HR), Jennings, Nye, Grawey, Fahland.
Lewis-Clark State hits — Ephan 2, Madariaga 2, Karagiannopoulos, Johnson.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, [email protected], or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
Continue reading...
On Saturday, the Lewis-Clark State baseball team crossed home plate 31 times in a pair of victories over its Cascade Conference foe, Bushnell (Ore.).
On Sunday, the Warriors mustered six hits and lost to that same Beacons team 5-4.
Baseball, like any sport, can be an emotional game.
"We're going to have some ups and downs, but we've got to stay neutral and grow and develop," LC State coach Jeremiah Robbins said. "We can't ride the roller coaster, and right now we're riding it. They'll understand it. I think yesterday is a great wake-up call."
Six Warriors combined to launch eight doubles in LC State's 16-8 Game 1 win. Then, Brandon Nguyen and Kason O'Neil vaulted grand slams in back-to-back innings while Landon Webb and Moscow's Levi Anderson sailed to seven solid innings to give the Warriors a 15-3 mercy rule Game 2 win.
Sunday was a bit of a pitchers' duel for eight innings.
The Warriors (14-3, 6-3) led 2-1 going into the ninth, before Bushnell jumped on Tyler Logan and Jace Taylor for four runs in the top of the ninth.
Logan dispatched his first batter in a lefty-on-lefty matchup, but then allowed the next runner aboard.
Robbins said he brought Taylor, who has played multiple relief roles so far, including leverage innings, in to get what the Warriors hoped to be the game's final two outs.
However, Bushnell had other plans, smacking the ball around the yard and capitalizing on a bobbled would-be double play to take a 4-2 lead.
"It was an odd ninth for us. It's one that we haven't had all year. Usually, we have an inning like that earlier in the game. We have more time to get readjusted," Robbins said. "But that's what's awesome about baseball. There's so many learning moments."
The Warriors attempted a comeback, but fell one run short.
"We competed to win two games, so that was good to see," Robbins said of the Bushnell series. "And then 'Jekyll and Hyde,' we're a whole different team on Sunday, so I think Sunday showed our immaturity as a team."
Robbins pointed to stretches where the Warriors will go multiple innings without a single hit and then score the bulk of their runs in one. That kind of bunched scoring is far from uncommon, but the extreme outcome of going down 1-2-3 for multiple frames is a sign of the team's inexperience, Robbins said.
The Warriors can't fall into the trap of letting failure roll into future failure.
Relative to some of his teammates, LC State second baseman Izzy Madariaga is one of the more experienced guys on the team, with 106 at-bats last year in his first season at LC State.
Robbins said that when Madariaga is relaxed in the batter's box, he can consistently smack line drives and ground balls up the middle or to right-center. That's what he did in the ninth inning on Sunday to put LCSC within one of the Beacons with a two-run single.
However, in moments where Madariaga is anxious and wants to carry the team, he can rush his at-bats and get a little pull-heavy, Robbins said.
Jackson Reed, a four-year player at Seattle U who transferred to LCSC, has thrived in an everyday role.
Reed is hitting .326 through 46 at-bats. His five extra-base hits and 15 walks have helped him settle into the middle of LC State's order.
"He's a special talent," Robbins said of Reed. "He's got some juice in his bat too, that will come later in the year."
Robbins said that Reed is learning how to handle the breaking ball.
The players aren't the only ones who are growing and improving each week.
"For me, being (my) first year back, there's a lot of growth on my end as well of putting guys in the right position and finding out (how they handle it)," Robbins said. "We did that throughout the day on Sunday, and (it) kind of backfired on us."
Robbins is no rookie, though. His six previous years at LC State and three national championship campaigns are a good measure of the fact that he'll figure out which guys to play where.
It's also a good bet that the Warriors, who are chasing British Columbia in the CCC standings early in the season, will find their way off the emotional rollercoaster, eventually.
"Who we are in April will be a lot different than who we are in March," Robbins said.
Now, the Warriors turn their attention to their longest road trip of the season — a 509-mile, nine-hour trip to play Oregon Tech.
Robbins said he has great respect for OIT coach Ricky Walker and the culture he is building for his program that has propelled the Owls into the mix for postseason spots in recent years.
"It's (OIT) versus LC state. They're going to be ready for us," Robbins said. "We better be ready to go. And that's what's awesome about this. We got five days of practice. Get ready to go. We gotta flush yesterday. Move on to the next opponent. Be ready to rock and roll."
Sunday's box score
Bushnell 5, Lewis-Clark State 4
Bushnell 001 000 004—5 6 3
LC State 000 010 012—4 6 1
Keamo, Schwenk (7), Mallari (8), Yacapin (9) and Richards and Gasper (8); Cloud, Lennartson (6), Logan (9), Taylor (9) and Ephan.
W — Mallari (1-0); L — Taylor (2-1).
Bushnell hits — Carson 2 (HR), Jennings, Nye, Grawey, Fahland.
Lewis-Clark State hits — Ephan 2, Madariaga 2, Karagiannopoulos, Johnson.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, [email protected], or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
Continue reading...
