DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jake Shirley's eighth-inning home run was the difference in Tuesday's NAIA top-10 matchup between No. 8 Lewis-Clark State and No. 7 Embry-Riddle at ERAU's Sliwa Stadium. The Warriors' left fielder took a 2-2 pitch over the fence in left to give the visitors a 2-1 lead before starting pitcher Steve Thompson finished the game on the mound for LCSC, earning his first victory of 2013. The Eagles (23-6) will host the Warriors (22-5) in three more games this week: Thursday, Friday and Saturday with all games beginning at 6 p.m.
Thompson (1-3) was in complete control for the majority of the game for LCSC, allowing just six hits over nine frames and only one unearned run to cross the plate. Thomspon's only hiccup happened in the fifth when
Matt Jacobs singled in
Kyle Chastain from third after a pair of errors allowed the Eagle centerfielder to reach the base.
Jacobs' RBI single knotted the game at 1-1 where it stood until the eighth inning when Shirley connected on the game-winning homer against Eagle starter
Brian Johnson (4-1). Johnson was just as good as his counterpart, surrendering just three hits to the Warriors, but two runs proved to be enough for the 16-time NAIA National Champions.
Shirley scored both runs for the Warriors, touching home from third base in the first when Eagle catcher
Adam Cellini threw down to second base to try to catch Ryan Sells stealing, but Shirley was able to score after leaving on the throw and Sells was called safe.
The final Eagle threat came in the ninth when
Jeff Lemon began the frame with a single down the left field line, however, his pinch runner,
Alex Church, was picked off by Thompson with
Kevin Lindheim at the dish, effectively ending the threat and taking the life out of the Blue and Gold dugout.
Eight half innings were three-up, three-down for the two pitching staffs, moving the game along briskly. The length of the nine-inning affair was just an hour and 56 minutes.
LCSC now owns a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series. The Warriors will take on Webber International tomorrow evening at Sliwa Stadium.
