Last week, Linn-Benton baseball had a grueling six games in four days. However, the Beaks made the most of it, earning a 5-1 record over that stretch. 

On March 13, the Beaks split a home doubleheader against 4-6 Mt. Hood, winning the first 6-5 and losing the last 3-1. Freshman Easton Corey recorded the win for game one. 

The Beaks followed their game two loss with four straight wins to finish out the week. On March 14 at home, LBCC swept 4-5 Clackamas in a home doubleheader, winning the first game 10-0 and the second 7-0. Freshmen pitchers Ethan Kleinschmit and Gabe Brabec recorded the wins. 

The Beaks’ final two games of the week, another home doubleheader, ended in a sweep over 8-8 Southwestern Oregon with scores of 6-4 and 3-1. Sophomores Camden Stephens and Ever Lamm recorded the wins.  

At this point in the season, sophomore Aidan Dougherty leads the Beaks in batting average at .341 (min. 10 plate appearances) while freshman Connor Boyd and sophomore Jordan Hockett are tied for a team-best on base percentage of .444. As for the entire team, AVG stands at .236 while the OBP is .342. 

Following the team’s six-game stretch last week, the Beaks now sit at 12-6 on the season with a strong 8-2 record in conference play. LBCC sits atop the current NWAC South standings, with Umpqua (6-2 in conference play) in second place. 

Kleinschmit Earns Player of the Week 

Freshman pitcher Ethan Kleinschmit didn’t just earn a win last week. He was also named an NWAC Player of the Week for his play in the previous week – his first piece of hardware for the Beaks this season. Per the NWAC website: 

“Kleinschmit had a dominant outing on the mound for Linn-Benton, leading them to a 12-0 victory [against] Chemeketa. In the win, Kleinschmit pitched six shutout innings, allowing just three hits with no walks while striking out 12 batters, good for two strikeouts per inning.”

Kleinschmit and the Beaks get a small break over finals week, next taking the field on Saturday, March 23 in an away doubleheader against Lane Community College. Game one will begin at noon.