The Linn-Benton baseball team will have a shot at winning the program’s second straight NWAC Championship on Monday.
The Roadrunners made it to the next round of the NWAC Championship Tournament on Sunday following an extra-inning 7-5 victory over Umpqua at David Story Field in Longview, Washington.
The win put the Roadrunners into their second straight Championship Monday, where they will take on Spokane for a shot at advancing to the tournament’s final game against Tacoma.
After four scoreless opening innings, Linn-Benton was first on the board in their elimination game matchup against Umpqua. The Roadrunners took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Andrew Demianew before Jake Dodge smacked a two-run home run into right centerfield to extend the lead to 3-0.
The score remained the same until Umpqua furiously stormed back to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh with a five-run fleury. Down to their last out of the inning, Umpqua scored four runs on RBI singles from Tristan Schaefer, Carson Dunn, and Zane Bidwell before Dunn reached home on a wild pitch to increase the advantage to 5-3.
However, with only six outs left to save the Roadrunners’ season, Linn-Benton found a way to respond with a late-game comeback of their own. After Jake Holmes and Chase Logan reached base on a pair of Umpqua errors, Brooks Avery smacked a ball into centerfield to bring both runners home and tie the game at 5-5.
After the game went into extra innings, the Roadrunners seized the momentum and quickly restored their lead on another RBI single from Demianew that brought home two runs in the top of the tenth inning.
Umpqua would get one runner in scoring position in the bottom of the tenth; however, it would be as close as the Riverhawks would get to harming the Roadrunners’ lead. Down to their last batter, a Payton Smith ground out for the Riverhawks would be the decisive blow that would send the Roadrunners into the next round.
Earlier in the season, Umpqua and Linn-Benton met six times during conference play, with each side winning three games. While the Roadrunners lost their first three matchups against the Riverhawks, Linn-Benton managed to win the last four, including the win-or-go-home matchup in the NWAC Playoffs.
The win kept the Roadrunners’ hopes at a second consecutive NWAC title alive, setting them up with a matchup against Spokane to decide who advances to the championship game against Tacoma.
Linn-Benton’s match against Spokane is scheduled for today at noon at David Story Field.
