LEWISTON, Idaho – Alonzo Vergara and Tyler Horner hit ninth inning home runs to break a 5-5 tie, helping Oregon Tech become the first team in 53 years to win 3-straight road games at Lewis-Clark State, grabbing an 8-7 victory at Harris Field.
 
The Hustlin' Owls (23-11, 10-2 CCC) were one out away from handing LCSC their first-ever 4-game sweep in program history, but the Warriors salvaged the series finale, 10-8, on a Connor Booth 3-run walk-off homer.
 
A day after becoming the first OIT team to sweep a twinbill from the No. 3-ranked Warriors (20-10, 5-7), Tech won their first-ever series against the perennial power – and became the first team since the University of Idaho in 1970 to win 3-straight games in a series at LC.
 
"We have a long season and this conference is really tough this year, but this series was definitely a big moment for Oregon Tech Baseball," said head coach Jacob Garsez.
 
The Owls trailed 1-0 after five innings in the opener, but it could have been much worse – as LC squandered opportunities in each of the innings – stranding a combined 12 runners on base (the Warriors left 17 runners aboard in the loss).
 
Tech capitalized on two LC errors in the sixth to take the lead – as Sean Tobin scored on a throwing error after a Korrey Siracusa infield single and Ian Peters plated Siracusa with an RBI double. A seventh inning Siracusa RBI single and an eighth inning Matthew Ortiz RBI double pushed the lead to 5-2.
 
The hosts pulled even in the bottom of the eighth on a Noah Wintraub 2-run single, but OIT had the answer, as Vergara blasted his second homer of the season over the left field wall and a batter later, Horner golfed a 2-run shot to cap the rally.
 
Starter Cody Dubray fanned seven in four innings of work, with Riley Cronin working the final two innings to earn his second win. Siracusa and Tobin finished 2-for-4 and Horner was 2-for-5 in the victory.
 
Both teams scored runs in the first inning of Game 2 – as Tech loaded the bases with no outs, scoring a run on an Ortiz walk and a Brodie Marino sacrifice fly, but answered with an Isaiah Thomas RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
 
LC broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth on a Jakob Marquez 2-run homer, but OIT countered with a 5-run eighth inning rally. Julien Jones gapped a go-ahead 2-run double and Ortiz followed with a run-scoring single.
 
Unfortunately, Tech could not hold off the ninth inning rally – as a 2-out walk brought Booth to the plate and the outfielder hit the first pitch he saw over the wall in right-center for the game-winner.
 
Siracusa was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Horner finished 2-for-3 with two RBI. Both was one of three LCSC players with three hits in the win, part of a 17-hit attack.
 
The Owls return home next Friday and Saturday, hosting Corban University in a 4-game series.