KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A spring snowstorm did not stop Oregon Tech from playing their first home doubleheader after 26-straight road games to open 2023 – as the Hustlin' Owls braved a frigid afternoon at Steen Sports Park to grab 12-7 and 15-11 wins over College of Idaho.
 
OIT (19-9, 6-0 CCC) ran their win streak to seven, grabbing sole possession of first-place in the conference standings – pounding out 30 hits in the doubleheader sweep.
 
"Proud of our guys, it took a lot of work to get the field ready this week and again this morning," said OIT head coach Jacob Garsez. "We responded well on the field and played good team baseball. I am looking forward to seeing how we respond tomorrow."
 
Tech never trailed in the opener, as Korrey Siracusa reached on a hit-by-pitch to start the first, scoring the first of his six runs on a Julien Jones triple. Matthew Ortiz sliced an RBI double inside the first base bag to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
 
The Yotes (18-9, 4-2), who saw a 9-game win streak snapped, cut the margin in half with a second inning bloop RBI single from Jake Denison – only to have OIT recorded back-to-back 5-run innings. The Owls strung together four run-scoring hits in the third – as Jones gapped a 2-run double, Ortiz lined an RBI single, Ka'ala Tam doubled home a pair and Brodie Marino added an RBI single.  In the fourth, Tech took advantage of two C of I errors as part of the big inning, with the big blow, a 2-run double from Marino.
 
Jonah Hultberg tried to rally C of I – doubling home two runs in the sixth and adding a 2-run eighth inning single – but the visitors could not get closer.
 
Patrick Arman pitched seven strong innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out five, to pick up his fifth win. Ortiz was 3-for-4 with three RBI, with Jones, Marino, Riley Cronin and Tyler Horner all adding two hits. Denison and Hultberg each had three hits for C of I.
 
Game 2 started with a wild first inning and ended after the top of the sixth due to darkness (predetermined by the league office and head coaches).
 
C of I took a 4-0 lead in the first – keyed by a 3-run triple from Ben Gaff – but OIT answered, sending 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning. A sacrifice fly from Jones and an Ortiz RBI single cut the deficit to 4-2. Tam followed with an RBI double and Sean Tobin tied the score with an infield single – with the go-ahead run scoring on a Coyote fielding error. Dane Bradshaw blooped an RBI double, Bryce Petrilla lined an RBI single, Ian Peters hooked a 2-run double into the left field corner and Jones capped the big inning with an RBI single.
 
The visitors tried to rally, as a Hultberg 2-run single in the third cut the margin to 11-7 and a 2-run double from Skylar Sadora in the fifth pulled C of I within 12-9. OIT capitalized on two errors in the fifth – plating three runs – to put the game away.
 
Braeden Bellum worked four innings of relief to earn his second win of 2023, working around nine hits. Tam and Bradshaw each had three hits, with Siracusa, Peters and Tobin adding 2-hit games. Hultberg, Tristen Garland and Kris Kirkpatrick had 3-hit games for the Yotes.
 
The two teams close out the weekend series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.