LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon Baseball wraps up the month of February with another four-game road trip. The Mountaineers have their first big test of the season as they will head to Lewiston, Idaho to battle NAIA powerhouse No. 4 Lewis-Clark State College.
OPPONENT
No. 4 LC State Warriors (15-1)
WHERE
Lewiston, Idaho - Harris Field
WHEN
Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 26-27
Saturday, Feb. 26 - 12 & 3 p.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 27 - 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. PT
First Pitch
• The Mountaineers are coming off a 1-1 split against NCAA D2 foe Western Oregon last week. Weather forced a day two cancellation.
• Eastern wrapped up the portion of its non-conference play that featured NCAA opponents. EOU was 3-6 in those nine games played.
• Including this weekend, the Mounties next three series will be against conference foes but will go down as non-conference contests.
• Following the four-game tilt at LC State, EOU will hopefully be home for the first time in 2022 next weekend against College of Idaho.
How to Watch/Follow
• Livestream and live stats for this weekend's series can be accessed on the EOU Baseball schedule page and by clicking the respective link above
• All home games this year will be webcast on the Mountie Sports Network at
www.EOUSports.com/watch. All EOU home games will be Pay-Per-View and can be purchased for $7.95 per game or $11.95 for a day pass of doubleheaders. Fans can also purchase an Eastern Oregon All-Access pass to watch all 2021-22 EOU home sporting events for $100.
• Livestreams for all home games will begin 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
• Live stats coverage for EOU Baseball games this season can be accessed at
www.eousports.com/livestats.
Story Lines
• Eastern Oregon's series at LC State will be their third match-up against a ranked foe.
• The Mountaineers' opponents for the rest of the season will now be against NAIA schools.
• The weekend match-up at No. 4 LC State is the highest ranking opponent EOU has faced since the program's reinstatement.
Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• The Mountaineers went 1-1 against in-state foe Western Oregon last weekend winning game one, 3-1 in 10 innings, before falling 2-1 in game two.
• Day two of the series was ultimately canceled due to inclement weather.
• In the win, EOU knocked seven hits over the Wolves.
Matt Garcia led the way going 1-5 with two RBI.
• On the mound,
Bennett King got the win in relief to go to 1-0. He pitched the final two frames and fanned one batter.
• Game two was another low scoring affair. A sacrifice fly in the sixth gave WOU the home win despite having four errors on the day.
Series History vs. LC State
• Since last season, the Warriors own a 7-1 edge over the Mounties in two series played.
• EOU's lone win over LC State came at home in the series opener, 12-10.
• All-time, the Warriors are 105-12 against the Warriors. The two first met in 1966 and last met in 2006 before EOU reinstated the program ahead of the 2021 campaign.
Road Trip! Road Trip!
• The Mountaineers are on the road for their first 19 games of the season before stepping onto their home field.
• EOU is scheduled to play a total of 35 games on the road this season and just 16 at home.
• Of the 35 road games this season, 19 will be in-state contests.
Batter Up!
• EOU has tallied five or more hits in 10 of their first 13 games played this season.
• Eastern had a season best 19 hits in the win over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
• When the bases are loaded EOU has hit 6-21 on the year for a .286 average.
It's Not Stealing If You Don't Get Caught
• EOU has done well this season when it comes to stolen bases, going 20-25 so far.
•
Austin Gerding leads the way in stolen bases with six on seven attempts in nine starts.
•
Garret Kollar is a perfect 3-3, while
McKlane Elgin is 3-4 to tie for second most.
Doing Work on the Mound
• The Mountaineers have racked up six more strikeouts in five games this year.
• Eastern racked up a season best 12 strikeouts in game one of their series at Pacific.
•
Jaydon Yancey leads the pitching staff with 12 strikeouts in two games started.
• Tied for second in strikeouts is
Zach Brown,
Davis Brown, and
Dylan Myers with nine each.
Scouting the No. 4 Warriors
• LC State is off to a strong start in 2022 with a 15-1 record to start and has won its last nine games. They are ranked No. 4 in the NAIA preseason coaches' top-25 poll.
• As a unit, the Warriors are batting .322 and have already hit 19 home runs this season. They have 145 RBI so far and have scored 163 runs.
• On the mound, the pitching staff has a collective ERA of 3.31. They have surrendered just eight homers and struck out 141 batters already.
• Defensively, LC State sports a .972 fielding percentage. They have committed just 15 errors and already turned 16 double plays.
• Sam Linscott is pacing the way with a .460 batting average and is slugging .651. He has a team-high 21 RBI and has scored 19 runs. He also leads the way in stolen bases at 13-13.
• Riley Way is batting .309 to sit second. He is 8-8 on stolen base attempts and has scored 19 runs as well.
• Nick Seamons is tied for the lead in home runs with four and is hitting .293. He has 13 RBI and is a perfect 6-6 on stolen bases.
• Also at four home runs is Luke White. He is third in batting at .308 and has the second most RBI with 19.
• Leading the pitching staff so far is ace Trent Sellers with a 3-0 record. He has an ERA of 1.19 and leads the way in strikeouts with 27 in 22.2 innings pitched.
• Second in strikeouts is Eric Chavarria with 23. He is 3-1 on the year and owns a 4.43 ERA in 2.21 innings of work.
• Both Joe Ball and Eli Shubert are tied for the lead in saves with two, respectively. Ball is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA.
Up Next
• The Mountaineers will hopefully host their first home games of the year next weekend, barring weather does not force a location change. They will look to host College of Idaho Saturday-Sunday, March 5-6. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. PT both days.
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