PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College baseball began the final celebratory weekend at home with a dedication ceremony for the renovated Huston Sports Complex and the newly named Jerry Gatto Baseball Field, achieved two major milestones in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, and swept Whitworth University to secure their third Northwest Conference series win of the season.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 6, Whitworth 5
Lewis & Clark 10, Whitworth 3
(Lewis & Clark 17-15-1, 8-9 NWC)
(Whitworth 20-11, 8-9 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Brett Pierson broke a 34-year-old program record in the sixth inning of game one. The senior righty started his 47th game needing just four strikeouts to overtake Pioneers Hall of Famer Doug Nichols' (1987-90) 206 career strikeouts. Pierson ended the game with 209 strikeouts to earn the win.
Five Pioneers finished with multiple RBI in the doubleheader led by seniors Jakob Ghammachi and Luke Bass with four RBI each, while senior Jack Savant, junior Brennen Davis, and freshman Gavin Mangano added two a piece.
Head coach Matt Kosderka earned his 100th career win after Lewis & Clark defeated Whitworth in game one. Kosderka is the first Pioneers head coach to reach the milestone since Coach Gatto won his 100th game in 1985, his fifth season of a 22-year career at Lewis & Clark.
GAME ONE RECAP
Pierson retired the first six batters he faced on Saturday, including striking out the final two batters of the second inning to move one strikeout behind Nichols on the career list.
Whitworth got on the scoreboard first after Aaron Clogston hit a sacrifice fly to score Kevin Corder in the top of the third inning.
The Pioneers responded in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ghammachi hit a two RBI double to center field, scoring Bass and junior Will Heron. Ghammachi advanced to third on the play due to a throwing error by the shortstop to home. Freshman Michael Aikawa hit a single through the left side to score Ghammachi to put Lewis & Clark up 3-1.
Pierson gave up a lead-off single in the top of the fifth inning before retiring the next three batters, including striking out Corder swinging to tie Nichols.
Savant hit a lead-off double in the bottom of the inning for the Pioneers, then advanced to third on a bunt by sophomore Brandon Gonzaga. Mangano drove in Savant with a single to right field for a 4-1 lead.
After Clogston popped up to Savant in the top of the sixth inning, Pierson struck out Jacob Doughty, looking for his 207th career strikeout, then followed it up by striking out Aidan Morrison, swinging to end the inning.
The Pirates tied the game in the top of the seventh with three runs on four hits.
Mangano recorded another RBI in the bottom of the inning, junior Justin Cavagnaro with two outs. Davis then hit an RBI double to right center field, driving Savant from second for a 6-4 lead. Mangano attempted to score from first but was thrown out at home to end the inning.
Sophomore Nate Kerr entered the game for Pierson to start the eighth inning. The Pirates' Clogston hit a lead-off home run to center field to cut the lead to 6-5. After walking the next batter, Kerr worked his way out of the inning with a fly out and a double play.
Senior Anthony Clerici closed out the game in the ninth inning for Lewis & Clark. A lead-off single led to a double and two quick outs for the righty. Clerici then struck out Quiggle to earn his fifth save of the season.
GAME TWO RECAP
Lewis & Clark scored first in game two and didn't let up. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning, Bass swung at the first pitch and hit the ball over the fence in left-center field for his second collegiate grand slam and a 4-0 Pioneer lead. Two batters later Ghammachi hit his fifth career triple, moving him into a tie for sixth in program history.
Whitworth scored their first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning when Blake Barrett hit a lead-off homer off freshman pitcher Owen Eisen. Eisen game up only two runs off four hits with three strikeouts over six and third innings.
Ghammachi hit a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to start a three-run inning for Lewis & Clark. Later, Savant hit an RBI single to score Aikawa. Two batters later, with two outs and the bases loaded, Davis hit a ground ball to the shortstop, but a throwing error to first scored freshman Bret Potter from third and extended the inning for one more batter.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ghammachi hit another one-out solo home run. With two outs, Potter reached first on the first of three consecutive Whitworth errors in the sixth inning. Savant hit an RBI single to center field that scored Potter; the senior then advanced to third on a fielding error by the center fielder. Gonzaga hit a ground ball to the shortstop and reached first on a throwing error, scoring Savant for a 10-1 lead.
Junior Kyle Wilsie pitched the final two and two-thirds innings for the Pioneers, giving up just one run on three hits and striking out three batters.
BY THE NUMBERS
Savant recorded his 500th career at-bat with his RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning of game two.
Ghammachi hit his 19th and 20th career home runs in the second game and added a single and a triple. While he was a double short in the game for hitting the cycle, Ghammachi did hit a double in game one.
Bass hit his 26th career home run to move into a tie for third in program history with his second career grand slam. It was his third four-RBI game this season.
Mangano has reached base in 14 straight games, the longest current streak on the team and the second longest streak this season.
WHO'S NEXT
The Pioneers will celebrate their nine seniors before the series and home finale against Whitworth. The first pitch is scheduled for Noon, with Senior Day ceremonies to take place about 20 minutes prior.