REDDING, Calif. – Tyler Horner finished 3-for-5 and four RBI – clubbing his league-leading 12th home run of the season, a ninth inning go-ahead 3-run blast – lifting Oregon Tech past Simpson, 7-4.
Tied 1-1 in the ninth, Matthew Lehrbach walked and Patrick Barry singled to start the inning. An out later, Horner drove a fastball over the left field wall to give the Hustlin’ Owls (24-13) the lead. Tech added a run on a throwing error and Ka’ala Tam punctuated the 6-run inning with a long 2-run homer to left.
Eight OIT pitchers combined in the non-league win – with Tim Williams earning his second win of the season in relief. Collin Brougham, Bronson Chapple and Brian McClelland each tossed 1-2-3 innings.
Locked in a scoreless duel, the Owls struck in the seventh, as Barry singled, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a Horner single. The Redhawks (18-21) tied the score with two outs in the eighth on a Logan Gomes pinch-hit RBI double.
SU made it interesting in their ninth, getting a 2-run single from Dominic Folks and brought the tying run to the plate – but Landon Cheney got a strikeout and fly out to end the game.
Tam extended his hit streak to 11 with a 2-hit day, with Barry and Kyle Norton each recording two hits for the Owls. Folks finished 3-for-4 for the Redhawks.
Tech continues their road swing this weekend, traveling to La Grande for a 4-game series at Eastern Oregon.
