GAME ONE

GAME TWO

SPOKANE, Wash. - The bats came alive for the Lewis & Clark baseball team, who exploded to a 14-5 win over Northwest Conference member Whitworth in game one of the doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers took full advantage of all 11 of their hits, while posting an astounding seven runs in the fifth inning of action. The Pios nearly pulled out another victory in game two slipping to the Pirates 9-8, while outhitting their opponent 15-5.

Both teams went through the first two innings not allowing the other a scoring opportunity. The Pios would change that in the top of the third with a triple by Ryan Kostecka that knocked in Sam Holman with two outs. The Pirates would respond in the bottom on the inning, posting one run of their own, tying the game 1-1.

The Pioneers blew the game wide open in the fifth, scoring seven runs on four hits. A.J. Brown was the first Pio to come around to score after being hit by a pitch and advancing to second on a balk. A ground out to the pitcher allowed Brown to advance to third before Parker Dane smacked through the left side, sending Brown home. Kostecka would once again make the Pirate pitcher pay, this time with a double to right center, advancing Dane to third before an error by the short stop allowed Dane to score.

The runs would continue to pour in with Kostecka coming home on a single by Jordan Wlodarczyk, which also advanced Sami Morgan to second. Whitworth would load the bases with the next Pio batter, making way for a monster grand slam by Michael Ball.

Whitworth managed to earn one run back in the bottom of the inning, but would be unable to stop the Pios from earning three more two innings later. Ball would once again go yard on the Pirate pitcher, bringing in Wlodarczyk and Laurence. The eighth inning saw yet another Pioneer home run, this time from Laurence who helped bring home Kostecka and Morgan.

The Pirates tried desperately to overcome their 13 run deficit, but would only manage to plate three more runs in the final two innings of action.

Alex St. Pierre picked up the win for the Pioneers, pitching 7.2 innings and striking out four.

Determined not to start game two like game one, the Pirates jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. The Pios earned two of those runs back in the following two innings of play, first with a run from Kevin Condon in the second inning. Wlodarczyk made the game 4-2 Whitworth in the third with a solo home run.

Whitworth pulled away in the sixth inning, scoring four more runs to take an 8-2 lead. Undiscouraged the Pioneers persevered, pulling themselves within one run in the eighth inning, making the score 8-7.

Wlodarczyk picked up an RBI in the eighth inning with his double down the left field line, while Laurence grabbed two RBI's after bringing in Wlodarczyk and Morgan. Jim Bray would come around to score the Pios final run of the inning on a single by Holman.

The Pios made things interesting in the top of the ninth tying the game on another solo home run by Wlodarczyk. The game seemed to be headed for extra innings, before Whitworth managed to squeeze in a run with two outs recorded, handing them a 9-8 win.

The two teams are set to tango again on Sunday, March 22 at 12 p.m. in two seven inning games at Merkel Field.