By Ryan Rutledge and Tyler Urke in Sports
The Clark baseball team lost twice at home against the Southwestern Oregon Lakers on Sunday but bounced back with two wins Monday to even the homestand at 2-2.
The first game on Sunday ended in a shutout, with the Lakers scoring two runs for a final score of 2-0. The Lakers also won the second game 5-2.
Game one started out slow. Nobody scored a run until the sixth inning. Another string of outs continued until the top of the ninth inning, when Southwestern’s Jordan Farley hit an RBI for the last run of the game.
Southwestern Oregon gained an early lead in the second game, scoring two runs in the second inning. Both teams scored two runs in the sixth inning, with Clark first baseman Brayden Maney driving in both. The Lakers scored one final run in the seventh inning, and Clark couldn’t answer.
“We didn’t have enough energy today,” said Penguin infielder Kyle Vanderkin. “We need to put today behind us and move on.”
Clark did just that on Monday as they took care of the Lakers 4-2 in the first game and 1-0 in the second.
After SWOCC scored a run in the third inning, Clark quickly answered with two runs of its own driven in by Vanderkin and Maney. An RBI double by Boyd Lainhart in the fifth inning and another RBI by Bryce Beavers in the seventh inning gave Clark enough offense to win.
An outstanding two-hit shutout by Clark pitcher Colton Krueger and an RBI by Maney in the first inning propelled the Penguins to their second win of the day.
The fifth ranked Penguins play next in another doubleheader at Mount Hood Community College on April 4.
