In a pitching battle for the books, one run was all it took for the Linn-Benton baseball team to survive and advance to the next round of the NWAC Playoffs.
The Roadrunners won by a narrow margin of 1-0 over the Bellevue Bulldogs on Thursday at David Story Field in Longview, Washington, earning them a spot in the second round of the NWAC Baseball Championship Tournament.
Linn-Benton managed to walk off the win in the 10th inning on a Bellevue error that allowed infielder Jake Holmes to score off an RBI single from outfielder Kolten Lindstrom. The victory was Linn-Benton’s third consecutive walk-off win and marked their ninth walk-off win of the season.
Before the Roadrunners picked up the win in extra innings, Linn-Benton and Bellevue found themselves deadlocked in an intense pitching battle. Both starting pitchers, Bellevue’s Tristan Aasland and Linn-Benton’s Connor Mendez, made it through the opening nine innings without giving up a run.
Overall, Aasland recorded five strikeouts while giving up eight hits in nine innings, while Mendez finished with six strikeouts while walking only one batter and giving up only one hit through nine innings.
The Roadrunners would find the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning after loading the bases on hits from Holmes, infielder Brooks Avery, and an intentional walk to Conner Boyd. On the day, the Roadrunners outhit the Bulldogs eight to one and allowed zero errors while their opponents gave up three.
The win secured Linn-Benton’s spot in the tournament’s second round and set the team up with a match against Lower Columbia in the main bracket. The Roadrunners will have their work cut out for them in their match against the Red Devils; Lower Columbia has a de facto home-field advantage and head into the matchup with a conference-best overall record of 45-4.
But no matter the result, Thursday’s win against Bellevue guaranteed Linn-Benton’s stay in the tournament until at least Saturday. If the Roadrunners beat Lower Columbia, they will face off against the winner of Tacoma and Umpqua’s match on Saturday. If Lower Columbia wins, the Roadrunners drop down to the lower bracket of the tournament and take on the winner of Spokane and Everett’s match to try and keep their season alive.
Linn-Benton and Lower Columbia’s match will round off Friday night’s action at David Story Field, with a start time scheduled for 7:35 p.m.
