KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Ka’ala Tam laced a go-ahead 2-out, 3-run triple into the right-center gap in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting Oregon Tech to a key 9-7 victory over No. 8-ranked Lewis-Clark State at Steen Sports Park.
The victory secured OIT (23-13, 9-3 CCC) a series split with the perennial NAIA power, pulling Tech into 3-way tie for first in the Cascade Conference standings.
“I thought our guys played well for the majority of the weekend,” said OIT head coach Jacob Garsez. “Today we were tough in pressure situations and minimized our opponent’s opportunities to create a big inning. We pitched and played defense out of jam and our offense was relentless all weekend. We continue to improve each week, which is a representation of the depth of this team and their character.”
Trailing 7-5 in the eighth, Patrick Barry walked with one out and moved to third on a Tyler Horner double. Julien Jones got Tech within a run, delivering a sacrifice fly to left to plate Barry. Korrey Siracusa walked and Alonzo Vergara was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Tam – who ripped a 2-0 fastball from Cameron Smith into the gap, clearing the bases, to give the Owls the lead.
The Warriors (19-9, 9-3) got a leadoff double from Brandon Cabrera in the ninth, but Riley Cronin was summoned from the pen, getting a strikeout, a ground out and a strikeout to earn his first save of the season.
Tied 3-3 in the fourth, Horner lined a 2-run double to give OIT a lead, but LC got two in the fifth and a Dominic Signorelli RBI double in the sixth to regain the lead.
In the eighth, LC loaded the bases with no outs – but scored just one – as Ryan Poling got a double play ball and a ground out to minimize the damage.
Tam finished 2-for-3 with four RBI, Horner had two doubles and two RBI, Jones finished 2-for-3, with Matthew Ortiz extending his hit streak to 18 games with a 2-for-4 game. Landon Cheney tossed three innings of relief, allowing just one earned run, before Poling and Cronin closed out the win.
Signorelli and Brandon Cabrera each had two doubles for the Warriors, who used eight pitchers in the contest.
OIT has next weekend off, returning to the diamond on April 9 with a non-conference road game at Simpson University.