LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University Baseball wrapped up the 2021 season this weekend as the Mountaineers hosted the No. 5-ranked Lewis-Clark State College Warriors for a four-game series. The Mountaineers were able to upset the Warriors in the opener, 12-10, before falling in the final three games. With the season over, EOU finishes with a 5-31 overall record and a 5-27 in conference play.
 
Day 1 – EOU 12, LC State 10 (Game 1)
How it Happened
• Game one saw the Mountaineers snap the Warriors (38-4, 30-2 CCC) four-game win streak and it was the first win for Eastern over LC State since the program had been cut in 2006. For the game, the two squads were even in hits at 14 each and both committed two errors.
• The Warriors posted half of their runs in the first inning as they jumped ahead 5-0 on the Mountaineers. A one-out double plated the first two runners in before a single made it a 3-0 game. Another single followed by a throwing error from EOU made it a 5-0 edge for LC State.
• EOU responded in the bottom half of the first scoring three runs. Carsten Manderbach led off with a single before Matt Garcia was walked to get two on. Juan Guardado then delivered a first pitch home run to center field to cut the score to 5-3.
• Neither team scored in the second to keep it at 5-3 after two. The Warriors went up three, 6-3, in the top of the third on an RBI groundout to the shortstop. EOU got the run back in the bottom of the frame on an Elliott Marks RBI single that scored Justin Frederick to make it 6-4.
• EOU grabbed its first lead of the game in the fourth with three runs scored that made things interesting at the near midway point. Helping the Mountaineers score two of the runs were a pair of fielding errors by LC State that allowed Manderbach and Blake Loftus to come in for the unearned runs. The third run came on an RBI single from Dane Kelsey that scored Frederick to make it 7-6.
• Both teams then worked a 1-2-3 outing to close out the fifth in quick fashion. LC state retook the lead in the sixth with a double down the first base line that scored two runs to make it an 8-7 score. EOU responded scoring three yet again to go up 10-8.
• Eastern got its first two runners on before Guardado doubled for the RBI to score Manderbach. Kelsey then hit a single to deep center field to drive in two runs in Guardado and Brooks Dyer for the lead.
• The Warriors got a run back in the top of the seventh as they loaded the bases on two singles and a hit by pitch before a second straight hit by pitch plated home the lone run of the seventh. LC State then tied it up in the eighth with a leadoff solo home run to center to make it a 10-10 contest.
• The Mountaineers answered in the home half of the eighth on the swing of Marks who played the role of hero. Garcia led off with a single before Frederick came in as the courtesy runner. The Warriors managed to get two outs after the hit but it was not soon enough as Marks delivered a two-run homer to right center field to put EOU in front for good at 12-10.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Juan Guardado went 2-5 with four RBI and scored a pair of runs.
• Elliott Marks hit the gamewinning home run and was 2-5 with three RBI to along with a run scored.
• Dane Kelsey also batted 2-5 in the win and had three RBI.
• Carsten Manderbach was 2-5 and scored three runs for EOU.
• Cooper Roberts picked up the win in relief, while Zach Brown was credited the save.
• Starter Jacob Farnsworth pitched seven complete innings and had five strikeouts.
 
Day 2 – LC State 19, EOU 5 (Game 2, 8 Inn.) | LC State 11, EOU 4 (Game 3)
How it Happened
• The second day featured a doubleheader and LC State made quick work of EOU in the first game. The Warriors won 19-5 in eight innings and had 17 hits in the win, while EOU had 10.
• Through the first three innings of work, the Warriors put up seven runs, five in the third alone, to grab a 7-0 lead. An RBI double in the first made it 1-0 before a single and a throwing error in the second allowed a run score for LC State and made it 2-0.
• A pair of hits got two runners on in the third for LC State before a three-run homer to center field opened the Warriors lead up to 5-0. Two more runners got on again with base hits and a sacrifice fly made it a 6-0 game. The score grew to 7-0 in the next at bat as the Warriors hit a double to bring the run in.
• Following a scoreless fourth frame, LC State tacked on one run in the fifth and held EOU scoreless once again to hold an 8-0 lead. An RBI groundout scored the leadoff better for the Warriors as they were in complete control after five innings of work.
• EOU ended its scoreless drought in the sixth scoring three runs, but LC State also put up a trio of runs to make it an 11-3 game. An RBI single to third made it 9-0 before a two RBI base hit to the shortstop pushed the score to 11-0.
• Easton Watterson got the Mountaineers on the board in the sixth with a two RBI single through the left side that brought in Elliott Marks and Juan Guardado. EOU then loaded the bases and an RBI walk on Brooks Dyer scored Adrian Roa to make it 11-3 after six innings of play.
• Both teams scored two runs in the seventh to make it a 13-5 game. A sacrifice fly and a single for LC State scored the two runs to make it a 10-run lead again at 13-3. EOU got the first run back on an RBI groundout from Marks to score Guardado before Watterson doubled to score Dane Kelsey.
• LC State ended the game early with the help of six runs and worked a 1-2-3 frame in the eighth to even the series at 1-1. A wild pitch by EOU scored the first run before a three-run home run to center field opened the Warriors lead up to 17-5. Two batters later a two-run shot over the left center field fence brought the score to its final of 19-5.
• Game two of the day, third of the series, went the full nine but LC State walked away on top 11-4 to take a 2-1 series lead. The Warriors outhit the Mountaineers 14-6 and five EOU errors plagued the team in the loss, while LC State had just two.
• The first run of the game came in the third as the Warriors hit a solo home run to center field to go ahead 1-0. It remained a 1-0 game until the fifth when the two squads combined to score four runs. LC State had three to just one by Eastern to go ahead 4-1.
• A single and an error in once sequence scored the first run for LC State before a two RBI base hit to center field made it a 4-0 edge for the Warriors. EOU got on the board in the bottom of the fifth as Carsten Manderbach grounded out to the shortstop to bring in Roa for the score.
• EOU worked a 1-2-3 frame to start the sixth and got a runner thanks to a Warriors fielding error in the bottom half. A throwing error got the runner in scoring position but he was left stranded. A leadoff double by LC State in the seventh got a runner on before a single scored the run to make it a 5-1 game.
• The bottom half of the seventh saw the Mountaineers get within one run as they cut the Warriors lead to 5-4 in the inning. A sacrifice fly from Brooks Dyer scored Roa to make it a 5-2 contest. Dane Kelsey then doubled down the left field line to score Manderbach and Blake Loftus.
• LC State responded scoring four runs in the eighth, all unearned, to jump ahead by five yet again at 8-4. The Warriors worked a 1-2-3 bottom half of the eighth to stay ahead 9-4. A leadoff home run in the ninth made it a 10-4 game before a groundout plated home the final run. LC State once again went 1-2-3 to end the contest.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Easton Watterson led the charge in game three with three RBI on 3-4 hitting.
• Dane Kelsey went 2-3 in game two with a run scored. He hit 2-4 in game three and had two RBI.
• Juan Guardado was 1-3 in both games and scored two runs in the second game
• Adrian Roa scored two runs and drew a walk in game three while batting 1-3.
• Jaydon Yancey struck out four batters in seven innings pitched as the starter in game three.
 
Day 3 – LC State 17, EOU 2 (Game 4)
How it Happened
• The Warrior completely controlled the series finale from the onset as they racked up 17 runs on 16 hits and did not have a single error. EOU managed just two runs and had nine hits to go along with two errors as they fell in the series, 3-1.
• A single to left field in the first inning scored the first run for LC State. EOU was able to get two outs before a throwing error by the pitcher allowed the Warriors to score two unearned runs to go ahead 3-0.
• Juan Guardado plated home one of the two runs on the day for EOU in the home half of the first. He hit an RBI single to left field that brought home Brooks Dyer for the score to make it 3-1. LC State answered with five runs scored in the second to make it an 8-1 contest.
• A pair of home runs by the Warriors in the second inning accounted for all five of their runs. The first was a three-run shot to right center that made it a 6-1 lead for LC State. Three batters later a two-run blast to center field opened up the Warriors lead to 8-1.
• It remained 8-1 after a scoreless third inning before five more runs in the fourth for the Warriors pushed their lead to 13-1. They loaded the bases in to start the fourth and got a run in on a hit by pitch. A single and a double, back-to-back, plated home the remaining four runs.
• A solo home run in the fifth and an RBI double in the sixth for the Warriors scored a run in each frame to expand the lead to 14 runs at 15-1. Neither team scored in the seventh or eighth to keep it at 15-1. LC State added two more runs in the top of the ninth, while EOU's final run came in the bottom of the inning.
• Three doubles to the out field in the first four at bats helped the Warrior bring in the final two runs before EOU closed out the top half of the inning. The final Mountaineers run came when Kelsey hit a double to right center to score Dyer and bring the score to its final of 17-2.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Dane Kelsey was 3-4 in the finale and had one RBI.
• Juan Guardado had two hits in four at bats to go along with one RBI. He also drew a walk.
• Brooks Dyer hit 1-3 with two runs scored and drew a pair of walks.
• Austin Brown had five strikeouts in a relief effort as he pitched 4.1 innings for the Mountaineers.
 
By the Numbers
12 – Juan Guardado tallied at least one hit in each of the final 12 games for EOU this season.
13 – The Mountaineers struck out 13 times against LC State in the finale, which matches a single game high for the season.
4 – The four doubles for Eastern in game two ties the most in a single game this year.
1 – The 2021 season marks the first full season for Head Coach Mike McInerney at EOU.