The only baseball team in the area to get onto the field Thursday played in the only game in the NWAC not to get rained out, and Centralia College made the most of it in a doubleheader sweep of Lane College, beating the Titans 7-4 in nine innings and 5-4 in seven.
“We’ll take it,” CC coach Ben Harley said. “That was a fun day.”
The wins pushed the Blazers to 10 games over .500 for the first time this season, and came against a Lane team ranked No. 4 in the most recent NWAC coaches poll.
“We were really preaching to our guys that we really have to learn how to beat these types of teams if we want to talk about winning a title or making a playoff run,” Harley said. “The boys responded well.”
Centralia jumped out to an early lead in Game 1 with a two-spot in the bottom of the first, bringing in two runs without the benefit of a hit thanks to two errors, a wild pitch, a walk, and a squeeze.
The hits came soon after, as Zaia Acklus drove in a run in the bottom of the second, Jaden Fulsher blasted a three-run bomb to left in the fourth to make it 5-0.
Fulsher — who just committed to NAIA Menlo College in California — added an RBI double in the eighth, finishing 2 for 4 with a pair of runs driven in.
“It was nice to see him relax at the plate and have a big game, because he’s been pressing a bit,” Harley said. “He’s such a good athlete that we knew that once he calmed down, went out, and hit, he’d start banging the ball around.”
Game 2 saw the Blazers drop a four-spot in the second to make it 5-3 early, and hold on for a one-run win. In the heart of the CC order, Tyler Harries, Bennett Comes, and Case Taggart all had two-hit games.
Taggart — already committed to WSU — drove in a pair of runs, playing once again in front of a small gaggle of MLB scouts taking note of his every move.
“He’s been getting quite a bit of attention,” Harley said. “He’s a heck of a ballplayer, and I’m excited to see if he ends up at Washington State, or if something happens with the draft. Either way, he’s ending up in a good spot.”
Remington O’Keefe capped off the second game as well as the first, earning his fifth and sixth saves of the year in one day.
Centralia and Lane are set for another twin bill at CC on Friday.
