Warriors hang on to beat Bushnell to begin Cascade Conference Tournament

TL;DR

Lewis-Clark State Warriors secured a victory against Bushnell in the Cascade Conference Tournament, highlighted by a remarkable play from right fielder Bryce Johnson. His barehanded catch and throw to third baseman Jackson Jaha helped maintain a three-run lead.

Key points

Lewis-Clark State Warriors won against Bushnell
Bryce Johnson made a critical barehanded catch
Jackson Jaha tagged out a baserunner at third base
The victory occurred in the Cascade Conference Tournament
The Warriors maintained a three-run lead

Lewis-Clark State WarriorsBushnellBryce JohnsonJackson Jaha

May 2—It was a nightmare situation: An errant Warrior pickoff attempt at first base that snuck into foul territory.

Already in motion to back up the throw, Lewis-Clark State right fielder Bryce Johnson knew what to do. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior raced toward the ball, barehanding it after it bounced off the wall.

With Bushnell's baserunner, Danny Womack, barreling around the basepaths, Johnson heaved the ball toward third baseman Jackson Jaha. Out of his hand, Johnson didn't know where the runner was and if his throw would be on time.

"Once I saw Jaha start to dig, then I was like, 'Oh yeah, he's got it,'" Johnson said. "And then (he) put the tag on and the crowd went wild. It was awesome."

Johnson's enormous throw and Jaha's clean reception ended the top of the sixth with LC State up by three.

With a ninth-inning solo home run, Bushnell made it interesting, but LCSC junior reliever Jordan Lennartson struck out his sixth batter to shut the door and seal the top-seeded Warriors' 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded Bushnell Beacons on Day 1 of the Cascade Conference Tournament at Harris Field in Lewiston.

The Warriors will face second-seeded British Columbia at 2:30 p.m. today back at Harris Field in the double-elimination tournament.

UBC beat College of Idaho 10-5 in Friday's second contest. Bushnell, which played two games Friday and hammering Oregon Tech 18-4 in the tournament opener, will play the winner of today's 11 a.m. elimination game between C of I and OIT at 6 p.m.

Staying steady

LC State didn't trail past the first frame, taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning and extending its advantage to three runs by the bottom of the fifth to back up senior starter Evan Canfield's season-best 10-strikeout outing.

The right-hander from Bothell, Wash., covered five innings, permitting three runs, nine hits and two walks, before handing the ball to Lennartson for the four-inning save.

"Offense was kind of stagnant at times, but we got the clutch hits when we needed them, and then pitched it and played defense," LC State coach Jeremiah Robbins said. "So this time of year, if you can find ways to pitch and play defense in a tournament like this, you're going to be in a good spot."

One of the few defensive shortcomings for the Warriors became their highlight play when Lennartson's pickoff attempt slipped past first baseman Ryan Prescott.

Robbins said that Johnson's big throw was the result of sound fundamentals on the right fielder's part.

"The guy's a Gold Glove outfielder," Robbins said of Johnson. "What he's done for us defensively has been incredible, and he just continues to grow as a defender for us, and the bat's going to come alive at some point."

Lennartson, one of the several Umpqua Community College (Ore.) transfers to follow Robbins to LCSC, kept the Beacons off balance with his swing-and-miss stuff. The junior right-hander's slider was particularly nasty and came up clutch for him in the top of the seventh with runners on second and third.