Linn-Benton baseball continued their winning streak last week, sweeping Umpqua in a four-game, home and home series. 

The first game of the series occurred on the road on April 11. Umpqua entered Game 1 as the toughest opponent the Beaks had faced all season, ranked second in the NWAC South with a strong 23-6 record. 

However, the Beaks won the first matchup 4-1. LBCC led 2-0 for much of the game until Umpqua answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth. The Beaks stormed back immediately, hitting two scores in the top of the ninth to grow their lead. For the game, catcher Evan Chadwick recorded two hits off of three at-bats, while pitcher Camden Stephens earned the win, playing seven innings, allowing only three hits.  

Both teams’ offenses heated up in Game 2, with Linn-Benton emerging with a narrow 8-7 victory. With the game tied at the top of the ninth, Kace Naone scored off of a Kolten Lindstrom single to give the Beaks the winning run. For the game, Ethan Buckley recorded three hits and four RBIs on his four at-bats. Pitcher Brody McMullen earned the win. 

The second doubleheader of the series occurred in Albany on April 13. The first game was another nail-biter, with Linn-Benton emerging with another single-run victory, 6-5. The game lasted 11 innings. The Beaks jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Umpqua tied it up all at once in a productive eighth inning. But at the bottom of the 11th, history repeated itself, with Naone scoring the game-winning run off a Lindstrom single. Pitcher Russell Holly earned the win. 

The final game lived up to the series’ potential, with Linn-Benton winning yet another tight game, this time with a final score of 2-1. The matchup went seven innings, and pitcher Gabe Brabec played all of them, allowing just three hits and earning the win. Aidan Dougherty scored off of a Spencer Sullivan double to give the Beaks the deciding second run in the fifth inning.  

After their four wins last week, the Beaks now sit at 26-6 with a 22-2 conference record. Their winning streak is now 18 games long, with the Beaks’ last loss occurring in mid-March. 

Up next, Linn-Benton will face Clackamas in another four-game series, starting with a home doubleheader on April 18 and an away doubleheader on the 20th. The first game of both doubleheaders will begin at 1 p.m. 

Linn-Benton announces 2024 Hall of Fame Class

On April 9, Linn-Benton Athletics announced the college’s 2024 Hall of Fame class. 

The inductees will be Linn-Benton’s 1988 baseball team, the 1972-73 men’s basketball team, Steve Binns (1980, baseball), Lee Bradish (1978, basketball), Steve Carothers (1972, baseball/meritorious service), Casey Cosler (1985, basketball), Tom Daniels (1983, baseball/meritorious service), Steve Douglass (1976, baseball), Rick George (1972, baseball), Rachel Heisler (1985, cross country/track/basketball), Ford Kimpton (meritorious service), and Dan Segel (1986, baseball/meritorious service). 

Details on the individual inductees can be found on the Linn-Benton Athletics website. 

The Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 21 at the Linn-Benton Activities Center in Albany, preceded by the annual Hall of Fame Golf Outing that Friday. Tickets will go on sale sometime in the summer. 

The 2024 class will be the Linn-Benton Athletics Hall of Fame’s fourth class after it began in 2021.