Mills, Warriors rock Dixie State; Junior slugger bashes three home runs in 12-5 L-C victory

Considering their potency, it's not as if the Warriors need extra opportunities at the plate. Opposing teams usually learn this quickly, if not painfully.

Like Dixie State did Friday night.

Lewis-Clark State capitalized on a botched double-play attempt in the sixth inning to score six runs and blow open an otherwise tight nonconference baseball contest at Harris Field.

Beau Mills was the primary instructor in the Warriors' 12-5 demonstration. The junior smacked a school record-tying three home runs, including one during the game-changing salvo.

"That's just baseball," Mills said. "Some nights you're on, some nights you're off."

Mills now has 16 home runs on the year, more than halfway to the single-season record of 30, set by Jim O'Dell in 1983.

Moreover, Mills, who was 3-for-5 with six RBI Friday, has a 12-game hitting streak.

"It was kind of Beau Mills' night at the park," said L-C coach Ed Cheff, whose team improves to 30-3. "He is a special power guy, and when he sees a mistake he makes you pay."

The Rebels, who fall to 18-13, made their most glaring gaffe in the bottom of the sixth.

With the score knotted 2-all, the Warriors' Jesse Roehl reached on a bunt down the third-base line. After an out, Kyle Melton smacked a sharp grounder to Jordan Daley, the Rebels' second baseman. Daley fielded the ball cleanly, starting a seemingly easy double play.

But as he turned to throw toward the shortstop covering second base, Daley struggled to remove the ball from his glove. As a result, only the out at second was recorded and a run scored as a hustling Melton easily reached to extend the inning.

"Any time you give a good-hitting team four potential outs," Cheff said, "that can lead to something big."

It didn't take long for the Rebels, an NCAA Division II club from St. George, Utah, to discover the consequences of Daley's blunder.

L-C took the lead on Melton's fielder's choice, then padded its cushion when Mark Thompson and Brent Wyatt ripped subsequent RBI singles.

Mills, though, delivered the most crushing blow of the frame.

He belted a three-run homer to right-center field, giving the Warriors a commanding 8-2 advantage.

The blast was his second of the game - he also lifted a solo shot to the same spot in the first inning.

After the Rebels trimmed the deficit to 9-5 in the eighth, Mills furnished his final wallop in the bottom of the inning.

He launched the first pitch he saw from Rebels reliever Cory Imel to right field. The two-run shot, which gave L-C an 11-5 advantage, sailed over the scoreboard and bounced off the roof of the LCSC Tennis Center.

Even after yet another rousing performance, Mills was quick to deflect all praise - almost as deftly as he knocked balls out of the park.

"The whole team played well," he said.

Mills was alluding to efforts of teammates like Wyatt, who may have the hottest bat of all the Warriors.

Wyatt, who bats in front of Mills, has tallied a hit in 10 consecutive games. Even more impressively, he has had at least two in his last nine outings.

"Wyatt has been hitting really well" Mills said. "It's nice to have a full lineup like that."

NOTES - Mills shares the record for most home runs in a single game with seven other players. The most recent Warrior to complete the feat was Yoshi Kimura, who did so against British Columbia in 2001.

Dixie State LEWIS-CLARK ST.

ab h r bi a h r bi

Stone cf 4 0 1 1 Thompsn ss 5 1 1 1 Zitting 1b 4 0 1 1 Wyatt cf 4 3 2 1

Pratt ss 5 0 1 0 Mills 3b 5 3 3 6

Rose 3b 4 1 1 0 Mier dh 4 1 3 0

Mickelson rf 4 0 0 0 Martin lf 4 1 2 1

Daley 2b 4 1 1 1 Lester 1b 3 1 2 0

Sundloff dh 3 0 0 0 Simmons pr 0 1 0 0

Messerly ph 1 0 1 0 Briggs ph 1 0 1 1

Mott c 3 0 0 1 Ecker rf 2 0 0 0

Viernes pr 0 1 0 0 Roehl rf 2 0 1 0

Candaleria lf 3 1 2 0 Georgius c 2 0 0 0

Knutz c 3 0 0 1

Melton 2b 4 1 1 1

Totals 35 5 8 4 Totals 39 12 16 12

Dixie State 000 020 120- 5 8 0

Lewis-Clark State 101 006 13x-12 16 1

Dixie State ip h r er bb so

Hansen (L, 4-4) 5.2 11 8 8 1 1

Lucero 1.1 2 1 1 0 0

Imel 1 3 3 3 1 2

Lewis-Clark State ip h r er bb so

Joaquin 4 2 2 2 5 4

Bird (W, 1-0) 3.2 6 3 3 0 3

Parker (S, 4) 1.1 0 0 0 0 2

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Breach may be contacted at mbreach@lmtribune.com