Roadrunners Win One, Draw One in Sunday Showdowns

 ALBANY, Oregon – The Linn-Benton Roadrunners won 11-1 against Clark Community and tied 9-9 against Centralia Community College on Sunday, March. 27. The Roadrunners improved to 13-4-1 on the season and 8-1-1 at home. 

In game one, the Roadrunners jumped out to 3-0 lead early in the game. Trey Nelson hit a solo home run to left field in the second inning; Jake Morrow and JJ Hoover each brought a run in during the third inning. The Roadrunner offense exploded in the fifth and sixth inning, scoring a combined 8 runs to give them a 10-run lead. The game ended early in the seventh inning due to the 10-run rule.  

Kian Hogan went 4 1/3 innings for the Roadrunners, throwing 4 strikeouts and only allowing 1 run on 2 hits. Kaden Miller picked up the win for the Beaks, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Hogan. 

In game two, the Trailblazers jumped on Roadrunners pitcher Boone Rush early, scoring 5 runs in the first two innings. The Roadrunners offense responded by bringing in 3 runs of their own in the first two innings. The Trailblazers would go on to add 2 more runs in the seventh inning. 

Heading into the bottom of the ninth inning the Roadrunners found themselves down 9-6 and all the momentum on the Trailblazers side. Three straight walks by Trailblazer pitchers sparked new life into the Roadrunners lineup. The Beaks found themselves with the bases loaded and the winning run at the plate. A sacrifice fly by Cayden Delozier crawled the Roadrunners back within two. Roadrunner Jake Hoskins then hit a two-out RBI-single to left field. Emiliano Alarcon stepped to the plate and singled to center field, bringing in a run and tying the game at 9-9. A pop-out to left field ended the inning. The umpires determined that due to darkness the game could no longer continue into extra-innings. 

“We all just competed as a team, in those last couple innings. Every single guy in front of me was competitive, and that put me in a good position to do something,” Alarcon said. “We were all just ready to go and finally turned it on…. We believed in ourselves in that last inning, and we knew what we could do.”  

Next up the Roadrunners travel to take on Umpqua Community College on Thursday, March. 31, at Champion Car Wash Field on West Stewart Park Drive in Roseburg. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.