UCC baseball gets swept by SWOCC in league doubleheader
The Southwestern Oregon Lakers took advantage of a lack of focus by the Umpqua Community College baseball team and swept a South Region doubleheader Tuesday night at Bill Gray Legion Stadium at Champion Car Wash Field.
The Riverhawks led through the first few innings of both contests, but one blow-up inning proved costly in 5-3 and 5-4 losses to the Lakers.
“Baseball is a game where, if you don’t focus and you allow the other team to be in the game, you’re going to get nipped for that,” Umpqua coach Jake Whisler said. “We’re working on that. We’re working to get better there. But, yeah, the focus piece throughout the entire game is going to help us a lot.”
Jeremiah Robbins gave Umpqua (8-12, 5-5 South) a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the opener and the Riverhawks held the lead until the third, when the Lakers scored three runs to take the edge.
The ‘Hawks nearly got through the inning unscathed, but a bang-bang play at first base was ruled in favor of SWOCC, allowing a run to score and the frame to continue. The next batter, Daichi Furuhata, smashed a two-run home run to give Southwestern (7-8, 4-4) a 3-1 advantage.
UCC starter Teague Van Dyke took the loss despite pitching strong for most of the outing. He finished with seven strikeouts and only allowed six hits, but was tagged with all five runs over six innings.
The Riverhawks exploded for four runs in the second inning of the nightcap to jump out to a 4-0 lead. A dropped flyball in left field allowed the inning to continue and UCC reeled off five consecutive singles to plate three runs and a wild pitch capped the scoring.
SWOCC was held in check through four innings by Jordan Lennartson, who allowed just three hits and struck out five in five innings of work. The Lakers finally broke through against the sophomore in the fifth inning with a pair of runs on singles by Ayuma Yazawa and Furuhata.
The bullpen took over in the sixth and the Lakers took the lead with three runs against Brevin Harrison, who walked four and gave up two hits in one inning of work.
The Riverhawks got the game-tying run in scoring position in the seventh inning, but failed to pull-off a two-out rally.
Umpqua and SWOCC are now part of a four-team group tied with .500 records in South Region play. The Riverhawks will next host first place Linn-Benton for a league doubleheader starting at noon Thursday at Champion Car Wash Field.
First Game
SWOCC;003;010;100;—;5;9;1
Umpqua;100;000;101;—;3;7;0
Picillo, Lester (3) and Long; Van Dyke, H. Robinson (7) and Robbins. W — Lester (2-1). L — Van Dyke (0-3). 2B — O’Malley (UCC), Withers (UCC). HR — Furuhata (SWOCC).
Second Game
SWOCC;000;023;0;—;5;7;1
Umpqua;040;000;0;—;4;7;2
Drar, Naputi (6) and Long; Lennartson, Harrison (6), Victoravich (7) and Strother. W — Drar (2-0). L — Harrison (0-2). SV — Naputi (2). 2B — Bidwell (UCC). 3B — Yazawa (SWOCC), Rogers (SWOCC).
