Riverhawks settle for a split at home against Chemeketa
Stellar pitching dominated the day as the Umpqua Riverhawks and Chemeketa Storm split a NWAC South Region doubleheader on Saturday at Bill Gray Legion Stadium at Champion Car Wash Field.
Three Chemeketa pitchers combined to shutout Umpqua 1-0 in the opener and Sam Coffman struck out a season-high 12 batters in a 3-0 win for the Riverhawks in the nightcap.
Taylor Brenneman, Jack Klee and Liam Petty combined to hold the Riverhawks without a run to start the day. The trio surrendered four hits and just two walks while striking out five hitters. UCC only got three runners into scoring position and never had a man advance past second base.
Brenneman picked up the win after six innings of work and Petty earned his fifth save of the season with a perfect ninth inning.
Logan Robinson and AJ Victoravich were nearly as impressive for Umpqua (11-13, 8-6 South Region).The game’s only run came in the second inning on a two-out single by Brody Hubble off of Robinson.
Chemeketa (10-13, 3-9) was unable to do much at any other portion of the game. Robinson and Victoravich pitched around runners on base, leaving seven Chemeketa runners stranded over the nine innings.
Robinson took the loss, allowing a run on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Joe Vaccaro, Lance Kreisberg and Joey Genduso both went 2-for-4 to lead Chemeketa at the plate. Zane Bidwell had two hits for UCC, including a two-out double in the sixth.
Sam Coffman took the hill in the second game and continued his run of pitching dominance. He gave up just two hits over six innings and punched out a dozen on the way to improving to 5-0 on the season.
“Just what we need out of a guy, to step up and absolutely shove. He’s been gross his last three or four outings,” said Bidwell, who caught for UCC in Game 2.
Coffman has thrown 20 consecutive scoreless innings in his last three starts, all wins for the Riverhawks. He has 28 strikeouts over that span and has allowed just seven hits.
UCC broke its scoreless drought against Chemeketa with a run in the second inning on a bases-loaded walk to Aiden Metzker. Jeremiah Robbins stretched the lead to 3-0 with a two-out, two-run single in the third.
Umpqua finished the game with eight hits, including two hits each from Robbins, Payton Smith and Bidwell, who had another double.
“We put a lot of hard balls in play, even in the first game, it’s just right at people,” said Bidwell. “They’re going to fall eventually and we’re going to open up.”
Tristan Ledbetter pitched the final three innings to close out the game for Umpqua. He gave up four hits, but pitched around the trouble to earn his first save of the year.
UCC and Chemeketa have split the four games they’ve played so far. The teams will meet in Salem on Sunday to finish the six-game series with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
First Game
Chemeketa 010 000 000 — 1 9 0
Umpqua 000 000 000 — 0 4 1
Brenneman, Ja. Klee (7), Petty (9) and Hooper; L. Robinson, Victoravich (9) and Robbins. W — Brenneman (2-2). L — L. Robinson (2-3). SV — Petty (5). 2B — Bidwell (UCC).
Second Game
Chemeketa 000 000 000 — 0 6 0
Umpqua 012 000 00X — 3 8 1
Rose, Bolstad (4) and Hooper; Coffman, Ledbetter (7) and Bidwell. W — Coffman (5-0). L — Rose (0-3). SV — Ledbetter (1). 2B — Bidwell (UCC).
