Roadrunners Use Long Ball to Defeat Edmonds

LONGVIEW, Wash. - The Linn-Benton baseball team trailed the Tritons of Edmonds College early but hit a trio of home runs in the fourth inning to move on in the NWAC Baseball Championships. The Roadrunners (37-10, 27-9 NWAC South) won by a final score of 10-5 against Edmonds College (39-14, 25-5 NWAC North) in a game that featured twenty total hits between the two teams.

The Roadrunners were the designated home team and were first to score as a Mark Carpenter sacrifice fly scored Bryant Starr in the bottom of the first  inning to make it 1-0. Edmonds would respond with a big second inning, scoring four runs to take a 4-1 advantage. However, Linn-Benton had an answer in the fourth inning.

Tyson McGrorty got the scoring started in the bottom of the fourth as his RBI single drove in both Nick Biagi and Noah Scharer. Starr would give Linn-Benton the lead on a three-run homer to make it 6-4. The next batter Flores hit a solo shot to make it 7-4. After a Carpenter single, Jackson Fera smashed a two-run home run to make it 9-4.

Linn-Benton added a run in the sixth as a Scharer RBI single scored Flores. Edmonds got a run back in the seventh, but could get no closer and fell 10-5 to the Roadrunners. Pitcher Talon McGrorty had a strong outing against one of the top offensive teams in the NWAC and Jake Johnson came on for two innings of relief work to secure the victory.

The Roadrunners await their next opponent, either Lane Community College or Everett Community College. That contest is scheduled for a 4:05 PM first pitch on Sunday, May 24.