The Linn-Benton Roadrunners seized a beautiful Saturday afternoon on March 28 with a pair of wins over Chemeketa.
LBCC beat the Storm 13-5 in game one and 5-4 in an extra-inning thriller in game two.
As has been the case lately, bats were active in the first game. However, the tone was set by a strong start from pitcher Emmett Stacher.
Stacher didn’t allow a CCC hit until the fourth inning. The freshman stands at 5-foot-10 but possesses sweeping mechanics and a repertoire that he often uses to control hitters. That was the case for Stacher against the Storm.
“The fastball was working best for me today. Me and (Aiden) Hazen came in with a clear game plan we set in the bullpen. We were just thinking ‘attack heater,’ make ’em try and hit it,” Stacher said.
Stacher finished with an earned run allowed, one hit, four strikeouts and three hit batsmen.
In the bottom of the third, sophomore Chanz Flores stood at the dish and worked his way to a full count. CCC’s Ryne Hockman served him a fastball, and Flores was ready.
The ball hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, but once it fell over the fence spirits at Dick McLain Field were high.
“I was ready to attack, just be on every pitch. He threw it over the plate and I put a good swing on it,” Flores said, “I blacked out around second, it was crazy.”
The solo shot gave the Roadrunners a 2-0 lead.
Chemeketa showed some fight in the away fifth. After Stacher hit the first batter of the inning, Jake Johnson was called upon to relieve.
Johnson immediately hit a batter of his own, and trouble started.
The Storm ended up scoring three unearned runs on just one hit to take a 3-2 lead before Johnson worked out of it by poaching a line-drive out of the air for the last out.
That lead wouldn’t last long, however, as the Beaks answered in the bottom of the fifth.
Kellen Segel started things off with a single, then Flores followed with one of his own.
After Jackson Fera worked a walk, the bases were juiced.
Hazen scored Segel on a groundout before Nick Biagi hit a two-RBI triple to take command of the game.
Johnson worked smoothly through the top of the sixth. The LB offense then added two more runs in the home half.
In the seventh, Segel singled again to score Landon Lea, who had gotten hit by a pitch a few batters prior.
Segel had himself a phenomenal day at the plate, getting a start at shortstop.
“Just being out there playing the game on a beautiful day like today, always the best. When the boys are having fun too, it all just feeds on itself and into our team’s confidence,” Segel said.
The sophomore utility man finished the game 3-5 at the dish with three runs, an RBI and a stolen base.
Segel has been coming into his own as of late and has been seeing more regular play because of it. In 45 plate appearances this year, he possesses a .442 OBP and leads the team in stolen bases with 10.
LBCC plated two more runs that inning.
The top of the eighth was Evan Lehnert’s second inning of work, and it was the one in which he allowed the last Storm run of the game.
He would retire the side on the next batter with a nasty breaking pitch to the outside of the plate.
Lehnert finished with a save in three innings of relief while striking out three.
The freshman wasn’t used much early in the season, but every time he’s made an appearance out of the bullpen lately, his stuff looks sharper and sharper.
A three-run bottom of the eighth was the cherry on top for the Roadrunners. The club capped off their scoring with a boom.
Matthew Talbot stood in for his first at-bat of the day after replacing Biagi in center field in the top of the inning.
Talbot got all of the first pitch, leaving little doubt where it was headed.
“I didn’t really feel it at all when it left my bat. I just kind of saw it go and I was like ‘Oh, might get out there,’ ” Talbot said.
The ball was hit well into the trees beyond left field.
LBCC now has four home runs on the year, coming in pairs of two in one day. As with any hot baseball team, Roadrunner bats are rising and rallying as a collective, but the pattern at hand almost feels like a whole different level.
Game two was much more hotly contested. The game was scheduled for seven innings but ended up going 10.
Talon McGrorty got the start for the Beaks. CCC scored first on a wild pitch in the top of the first.
McGrorty started a little bumpy, but settled in nicely in the second and sailed from there. The righty sat down 11 of the next 12 batters following the first.
“When stuff gets a little hectic I remind myself that I have seven guys behind me that are going to do everything they can to get an out for the team. Remembering that whoever the ball goes to in the field they are going to do whatever it takes,” McGrorty explained.
Linn-Benton captured their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the third when Flores singled to center to bring home Jack Lussier and Tyson McGrorty.
The fifth was McGrorty’s last inning; he gave up four hits in a row and allowed two runs before shutting things down in a big way, catching Tyrel Gertner swinging on three pitches.
Seth Willy tied things up in the home sixth with a single that scored Biagi.
After McGrorty, Kyle Miller went four clean innings before finally giving way in the top of the 10th inning when Owen Sonne knocked home Liam Irish to capture a 4-3 CCC advantage.
Miller grabbed two outs before Dayne Castillo stepped in. Miller finished with 4 ⅔ innings pitched and struck out a whopping eight batters.
Castillo didn’t miss a beat. He retired the side on a three-pitch strikeout looking.
Miller has a 0.63 ERA in 14 ⅓ innings this year, while Castillo is pitching to the tune of a 0.69 ERA in 26 innings.
The Beaks tied the game up on a wild pitch and eventually found themselves with two outs and runners at the corners.
The third baseman Lussier stepped in. He swung at the first pitch and knocked it cleanly into left field.
The Roadrunners cleared the dugout as Lussier dropped his bat.
That makes seven wins straight for LBCC.
As of late, it’s been sophomores such as Flores, Landon Lea, Segel and Biagi who have been doing the most damage at the plate. However, just about everyone on the team that gets regular at-bats is seeing success in one way or another.
It seems as though right now, everyone has a role that they are executing at a high level.
“We’re rolling right now. The biggest motivation for personal success is team success, seeing others do well,” Segel said.
The Roadrunners play on the road in their next games, April 1 against Umpqua. The Riverhawks sit right below LB in the standings, they are also the only squad that can say they have swept the Beaks this year.
Game one is scheduled for a noon start while the second game is set to start around 3 p.m.
