LBCC Baseball - Beaks Weather Rain, Sweep Umpqua at Home

Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose Larson

On Saturday afternoon at Dick McClain Field, Linn-Benton Community College took down Umpqua Community College 6-5 and 2-1 in a doubleheader of NWAC baseball action.

The wins improved the Roadrunners’ record to an impressive 26-6 overall and 22-2 in conference play.

“The boys have played very well together,” said Head Coach Andy Peterson, “they’re having fun being around each other and playing very well together.”

In game one, Linn-Benton got off to a hot start, taking a 4-0 lead after the first two innings. Pitcher Ethan Kleinschmit continued the dominance, racking up 12 strikeouts and only allowing four hits through seven innings.

Following a wild pitch to extend the lead to 5-0, the Oregon weather switched things up entirely. Heavy rain forced a pair of rain delays during the seventh and eighth innings. Once the rain had stopped, Umpqua came to life, rattling off five runs in the top of the eighth to even the score.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose Larson

However, Coach Peterson quickly dismissed the downpour as the potential cause for the shift in momentum.

“It’s part of the game,” he said, “we practice and play in the rain all the time, so it’s nothing new for us.”

With nothing to separate the teams through nine innings, the game moved on to extras. At the bottom of the 11th, Kolten Lindstrom stepped up to bat with only one out and runners at second and third base.

Facing a full count, Lindstrom smacked a grounder into right field to bring in the winning run for the Roadrunners to take game one. The hit marked Lindstrom’s second walk-off hit of the season.

“Everyone’s just like rooting for each other so much,” said Lindstrom, “It’s just such an easy team to play with.”

 

Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose Larson

During the second game, the team continued their form on both sides. A wild pitch by Umpqua with the bases loaded in the second inning gave Linn-Benton a one-run lead. A double to deep right by Spencer Sullivan brought in another run in the fifth to extend the Roadrunners’ lead.

In the top of the sixth, a Umpqua single earned a run back to cut the deficit to 2-1. However, pitcher Gabe Brabec was quick to snuff out a potential comeback from the visitors, striking out two out of three batters in the seventh to seal the victory.

Brabec pitched the entire second game, striking out eight batters and only allowing three hits.

“Gabe is different,” said Peterson, “He’s got some stuff that I’ve never seen before.”

Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose Larson

The wins extended the Roadrunners’ win streak to an imposing 18 games. The last loss for the team occurred over a month ago at the hands of Mt. Hood Community College.

While the streak has been an impressive run, the team remains focused on their remaining regular season games.

“Everyone just knows that even though we’ve won a lot of games in a row, we’re not there yet, and we just got to keep getting better,” said Lindstrom.

Linn-Benton’s next matchup will be on Thursday, April 18, at home with a doubleheader against Clackamas Community College, starting at 1 p.m.