LEWISTON, Idaho – Tyler Horner tied the Oregon Tech school record with his 16th home run, but Lewis-Clark State scored all 10 of their runs in the middle innings, as the No. 5-ranked Warriors eliminated the Hustlin’ Owls from the Cascade Conference Championships, topping Tech, 10-2, at rainy Harris Field.
OIT (34-18) will have to wait until Thursday to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
Horner opened the scoring with his long ball in the first, tying Dalton Daily for the single-season home run record. Unfortunately for the Owls, LC (37-10) starter Shane Spencer did not allow another run until the ninth, when Kyle Norton homered – as Spencer tossed an 8-hit complete game on 129 pitches.
LC took the lead for good in the fourth – scoring four unearned runs, with Carter Booth lining a key 2-run double. The hosts would extend the margin with a 3-run fifth and 3-run sixth.
Both Matthew Ortiz and Alonzo Vergara had two hits in the loss for Tech, as starter Bronson Chapple allowed seven runs in four-plus innings.
Booth was 2-for-4 with three RBI and Charlie Updegrave was 3-for-5 in the win for LCSC.
