Lewis-Clark State pieced together only one rally, but that was enough to carry it to a 4-3 victory over Concordia in the opening game of the NAIA Region I tournament Thursday at Simplot Stadium.
The Warriors scored all four runs in the third inning and held off Concordia behind Brian Parker’s 31/3 innings of shutout relief. Parker picked up his seventh save as L-C prevailed in its first regional-tournament game in eight years.
Top-seeded L-C, 49-4, will face No. 2 Albertson, 30-15, today at 11:30 a.m. PDT in the winners-bracket semifinal. The victor advances to Saturday’s title round of the four-team double-elimination tournament.
Albertson drubbed third-seeded British Columbia 12-3 in Friday’s other game.
Fourth-seeded Concordia, 17-30, will face British Columbia, 21-19, this morning in a loser-out game.
The Cavaliers mustered clearly their best effort of the season against L-C, which has won all nine meetings. They scored three times in the fourth inning, a rally that featured three of their seven hits on the day.
Those runs came off L-C starter Mike Miller, who picked up the win but left the game in the sixth inning with a lower-back injury. The extent of the injury was not immediately known, but it is not thought to be serious.
Miller (5-0) struck out the first two batters in the Concordia sixth, then limped off the mound. L-C coach Ed Cheff went out to check on the senior right-hander and determined he could not continue.
So Parker was summoned from the bullpen, and the junior right-hander finished the game, surrendering one hit and a walk while striking out seven. His seven saves rank second on L-C’s single-season list, one off the school record.
The Warriors compiled 11 hits, with three coming from left fielder Paul Martin. They also drew six walks, but ended up stranding 12 baserunners, half of them in scoring position. Outside the third inning, L-C was 0-for-8 with runners on second and/or third.
Mark Thompson was plunked by a pitch to lead off the third, then stole second for the first of his two stolen bases on the day. Thompson has 35 this spring, the third-best single season mark in L-C history.
After a Brent Wyatt groundout that moved Thompson to third, Beau Mills was handed an intentional walk. He stole second, then Jessie Mier singled to center to drive in Thompson. Martin followed with an RBI double to left-center, and Zach Evangelho closed the flurry with an RBI single to center.
Kyle Waterland keyed the Cavaliers’ fifth-inning surge with a two-run double.
Concordia starter Ross Conway (3-2) suffered his second loss of the year to L-C, giving up 10 hits and four walks over 62/3 innings while striking out three.
Sophomore right-hander Matt Fitts (8-0, 1.90 ERA) is expected to get the start today for the Warriors.
