LEWISTON, Idaho – Julien Jones roped a go-ahead opposite field RBI double in the top of the 17th inning, helping Oregon Tech split a Cascade Conference doubleheader at Lewis-Clark State, as the Owls claimed a Game 2, 6-5, victory.
 
The longest game in both the histories of the OIT (20-10, 11-8 CCC) and LC State programs lasted nearly five hours – with the Hustlin' Owl bullpen limiting the Warriors to two runs over the final 12.2 innings.
 
LC (18-9, 15-4) won today's opener, 6-3.
 
The epic marathon was tied at 4-4 heading into extra innings, with Jones giving Tech a lead in the tenth with a 2-out solo homer.  The Owls were one out away from victory, but Dominic Signorelli extended the game for LC with a solo homer of his own.
 
Riley Cronin tap-danced through four shutout innings – stranding the winning run in scoring position in the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th innings. Fellow reliever Alex Rodriguez got double play balls in the 15th and 16th innings to stymie the Warriors threat – as LC stranded 18 runners in the contest.
 
"We competed extremely well all day," said OIT head coach Ricky Walker. "Our pitchers were relentless and didn't give in. We played Tech Baseball all day."
 
In the 17th, Patrick Barry led off with a single, with Jones ripping a 2-out RBI double of the wall in right-center to give Tech the lead. Rodriguez worked around a one-out single in the bottom of the inning to claim the victory.
 
OIT battled from behind to get the game to extra innings, as a Ka'ala Tam 2-run single in the seventh tied the game at 3-3. Following a Charlie Updegrave homer that gave the Warriors the lead, Matthew Ortiz tied the score in the eighth with an RBI single.
 
Logan Macy was 3-for-7, with Ortiz and Jones each recording two hits. Jakob Marquez was 4-for-8 for LC.
 
The Owls played a 15-inning game during the 2013 season vs. Concordia to establish the previous longest game in program history, with LC State playing two 15-inning games prior to today.
 
The opener saw Tech squander 1-0 and 3-1 leads – as an Updegrave solo homer in the seventh breaking a 3-3 tie.
 
Tyler Horner hit his team-leading tenth homer of the year in the first and added a run-scoring single in the third, giving OIT a 3-1 lead. However, the Warriors got a Noah Weintraub RBI double in the fifth to tie it, adding two insurance runs following the Updegrave homer, to put the game away.
 
Horner was 2-for-3 in the loss for Tech, with Tim Williams going six strong innings in a no-decision. Jackson Cloud retired 7-of-8 batters to earn the win for the Warriors.
 
The two teams close out the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.