April 6, 2008

ST. GEORGE, Utah - Despite Kyle Greene's eight RBI, two grand slam day, the Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) College baseball team saw its 23-game winning streak snapped with two outs in the ninth inning on Saturday (March 5)--the 10-9 loss to Dixie State (Utah) College is the first Warrior loss since February 17.

The two grand slams by Greene ties an NAIA single-game record, one that has been accomplished eight other times.

A slow start found the Warriors down 6-0 by the fifth inning, but two swings of the Greene's bat, one in the sixth inning and one in the seventh, gave LCSC the lead and put Greene in the Warrior record books. Greene becomes the first Warrior to hit two grand slams in a game, and only the ninth person in the history of NAIA baseball to accomplish the feat.

The Rebels stormed back though as they scored two in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 9-8, and one in the eighth to tie it up at 9-9. In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, Dixie State catcher Blake Mickelson drove a triple off the wall and Brett Adams followed it up with his only hit of the game--a walk-off single lofted to shallow centerfield.

With its third longest winning streak in program history finally ended, LCSC drops to 29-3, while Dixie State improves to 20-16. The loss marks the first time the Warriors have fallen to Dixie State. LCSC has an all-time record of 7-1 against the Rebels.

Uncharacteristically, Warrior starting pitcher Matt Fits fell into trouble in the third inning as he hit a batter, walked another, gave up a single, and then gave up a three-run homer to Mickelson. Probably even more uncharacteristic was the fact that the Warriors were only able to muster two hits in the first five innings. Dixie State starter Skyler Southwick cruised through the Warrior lineup until Greene's grand slam ended his outing in the sixth.

Greene finished the day with eight RBI, two runs, a double, and two home runs on 3-for-4 hitting. His eight RBI fall short of LCSC's all-time mark of nine RBI in a game set by Ryan Kies in a 32-3 drilling of St. Martin's in 1997.

Greene was one of the hottest hitters in the NAIA in the month of March and he doesn't seem to be cooling down any in April. In his last 14 games he has gone 32-for-58 for a .552 batting average, and has hit nine home runs and recorded an incredible 37 RBI. For the season, Greene is now batting a team leading .479 with 11 home runs, and 49 RBI.

Brent Wyatt was the only other Warrior with an RBI in the game as he went 1-for-4, and Sean Halton was the only other Warrior with multiple hits as he had a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Travis Georgius' single in the sixth extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Overall, Dixie State out hit the Warriors 11-10, and LCSC committed three errors--the most it has committed since a March 21 game versus British Columbia.

Ryan Woods who pitched the final three innings in relief of Matt Fitts received the loss, while the Rebel's Nick Orgil earned the win for his efforts in the eighth and ninth.

The Warriors play one more game against Dixie State on Sunday at 11 a.m. before returning to Harris Field to face the College of Idaho on Tuesday and Wednesday.