The Baseball Observer May-June 2016 vol 7 | Page 59

LCSC hit three home runs in the 2007 championship game.

The wild contest featured 29 hits, including 13 for extra bases. Despite all the runs and hits, LCSC only left four stranded on base while Faulkner left eight.

The Warriors jumped out to a 2-0 lead by hitting back-to-back home runs, the first time it has happened in the championship game. J.J. Robinson (JR/Colfax, Wash.), who was 1-for-16 in the Series entering the game, hit the first pitch of the second inning over the left-center field fence and Micah Brown followed with a shot over the left-field fence.

Faulkner tied the contest in the bottom of the inning, also using the long ball for its runs. Deivy Palmeiro hit a one-out single up the middle and Morton followed with a solid shot over the left-field fence for a two-run home run.

The Warriors made it 3-2 in the top of the fourth. Jacob Zanon drew a leadoff walk and an out later, Brown was hit by a pitch. Tyler McDowell (SO/Puyallup, Wash.) followed with a single in between first and second to score Zanon and move Brown to third. Cabe Reiten, however, grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Faulkner tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but it took an umpire conference to do so. Nick Cain hit a ball down the right-field line that originally was ruled off the lower wall for a double. However, after Faulkner coach Patrick McCarthy argued the call, the six umpires got together and changed the call to a home run. TV replays were inconclusive.

Both teams added three-run home runs in the fifth. In the top of the inning, the Warriors got singles by Julian Ramon (SR/Oxnard, Calif.) and Logan Griffin (JR/Apple Valley, Calif.) to end the day for Faulkner starter Miguel Castellanos. Zanon then lifted a three-run shot over the left-center field fence to put LC temporarily up 6-3.

Faulkner, however, responded with a three-run home run of its own and added a solo shot for its first lead. Alexis Cruz singled and David Palenzuela followed with a walk. T.J. Condon, who hit a grand slam on Thursday night during a 14-5 win over Bellevue, launched a three-run shot to left. After a pair of ground outs, Morton clubbed his second home run of the game and 17th of the season to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead.

The Eagles' advantage was short lived as the Warriors scored twice in the top of the sixth. Tyler McDowell hit a one-out single and Reiten was hit by a pitch. Gunnar Buhner (JR/Issaquah, Wash.), the son of former Seattle Mariner outfielder Jay Buhner, smacked a two-run double to left-center field to make it 8-7. Faulkner then went to its closer Austin Moreland and he was greeted by a two-run home run by Julian Ramon to make it 10-7.

The Warriors added two more runs in the top of the seventh, Faulkner brought in pitcher Ivan Pelaez, who was making his fourth appearance in the tournament in six days, and LCSC went back-to-back again as Brown and McDowell hit solo home runs to make it 12-7.

Faulkner picked up a run in the bottom of the seventh when Morton slugged his third home run, a solo shot, to give him 18 on the season.

In the wild ninth, LCSC reliever Quin Grogan (SR/Stanfield, Ore.) struck out the first two batters he faced before Palmeiro singled up the middle. A walk to Morton and a single by Cain loaded the bases. Martinez then singled through the left side for an RBI and Polanco followed with his two-run single before Martinez was thrown out at third to end the game.

Several players had big nights at the plate. Zanon went 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Brown, McDowell, Buhner and Ramon drove in two apiece. McDowell also added three hits.

Morton finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and four runs scored. Cain, Martinez and Polanco added three hits apiece. Condon drove in three, while Polanco added two RBI.

59