Roadrunner Baseball Wins NWAC South Division After Sweeping Clackamas
Linn-Benton Roadrunner Baseball has managed to sweep the Clackamas Cougars in the final series of the regular season, flexing their offensive muscles and allowing the Cougars to only manage four total runs in the series. LBCC started the sunny weekend off with a slow 4-0 win against a Cougars team that wanted to make an impression, but the Roadrunners simply responded by winning the next three games 11-1, 11-1, and 12-1. The Roadrunners used this series to cap off a successful season that found them winning the south division for the third year in a row. They finished the regular season with one of the best conference records among the NWAC at 20-4. Their overall record of 30-9 is stellar and sits at a .769 win percentage.
Multiple players made a lasting impact on the series, especially on offense. However, Pitcher Daniel Ferrario helped pull the shutout in the first game of the series, pitching ten total strikeouts. On offense, Richard Mascarenas led with eight total runs, capping off a successful season for him. Jacob Melton contributed in the series with five runs, and is the only Roadrunner in the NWAC leaderboards, sitting at fifth in batting average with a .382 average. In the regular season, the Roadrunners hit 292 runs with a team batting average of .310 and an on-base percentage of .406. They look to carry their momentuml into the NWAC playoffs. The Roadrunners are currently waiting to find out who their opponent will be before the start of the super regionals, where any seed lower than #1 will find themselves battling it out for a spot in the championship bracket.
First-year head coach, Andy Petersen has continued the success he helped build as an assistant with amazing results. The rest of the NWAC is no walk in the park however, with out-of-conference foes such as Everett (35-9 overall, 19-5 in the north) and the team with the home advantage by coincidence, Lower Columbia (35-8 overall, 22-3 in the west). While the Beaks have never met either of these teams on the diamond, the Cougars did face Lower Columbia earlier in the season, splitting the series 1-1. The lights are brighter and the stakes are higher, but pressure creates diamonds, and the powerhouse Roadrunners look to make magic on one in the coming weeks as well.
Story and Photos by Cam Hanson
