Linn-Benton Completes Sweep At Mt. Hood

GRESHAM, Ore. - The Linn-Benton baseball team took to the road on Saturday and returned home with a pair of victories over Mt. Hood Community College. The Roadrunners won the first contest 5-2 in nine innings, then rallied late for a 6-3 victory in a seven inning game.

Game 1:

The Roadrunners (27-5-1, 23-5 NWAC South) got off to a strong start, as a Jake Dodge RBI double scored Brooks Avery in the top of the second inning to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Sam Giansante would single to advance Dodge to third base. With runners on the corners, Giansante would steal second, forcing an error from the catcher that scored Dodge. Giansante would then advance to third and on another error would cross home plate to make the score 3-0.

The Saints (8-31-1, 6-22 NWAC South) would score a run in the bottom of the second inning to make it 3-1 but they would not get any closer as Andrew Demianew would hit an RBI single in the third inning scoring Bryant Starr, then would hit another RBI single in the fifth inning that scored Conner Boyd. 

Mt. Hood's attempt at a late rally was stopped after scoring one run in the ninth inning as Seth Dreeszen entered the game and struck out the final two batters to record a save and the 5-2 win for the visitors. Chanz Flores recorded the win going four innings in relief.

Game 2:

The second contest would get off to a similar start, as a third inning single from Boyd would score Jake Holmes to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead. Mt. Hood would respond with a run in the fifth inning to even the score at 1-1. Linn-Benton would use the sixth inning to take a commanding lead.

Starr and Demianew both drew walks and advanced on a pair of wild pitches that would put runners on second and third base with one out. Jackson Fera was intentionally walked to load the bases and bring Aiden Hazen to the plate. Starr would score from third on a wild pitch, then Hazen would hit a double into the outfield to score Demianew and Fera for a 4-1 lead. Eli Rolfe would then hit a triple to score Hazen, and Holmes would step to plate and hit a single to score Rolfe making it 6-1.

The Saints again tried to rally late, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth but it was not enough as the Roadrunners would take the game 6-3. Caden Richardson recorded the win going four innings while allowing just one run and striking out four.

Linn-Benton returns to the road Thursday, May 1 as they travel to Chemeketa Community College for a pair of nine inning games. The games are scheduled for 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM starts.