Going into LBCC’s March 20 doubleheaders against Mt. Hood, the Roadrunners hadn’t hit a home run yet this season.
That’s not particularly a problem, but it’s worth mentioning because the team ended up hitting two that afternoon alone.
LB defeated MHCC 6-2 in game one of that doubleheader and 7-1 in game two.
Emmett Stacher was the starter in the first game. He only pitched the first two innings, allowing both Saint runs before Dayne Castillo took over.
Castillo, who has recently been proving more and more trustworthy in length relief roles, worked through five innings of scoreless ball allowing just three hits. He also picked up four strikeouts as well as the win.
“My experience as a starter in high school really helps me understand some of the smaller complexities of the game, such as how to pitch to a lineup the second or third time through so you’re not as predictable,” Castillo said.
In the top of the seventh, with the game tied at 2-2, Jackson Fera got a hold of a pitch for a pull-side home run, LB’s first of the season. The solo shot was all the team needed to capture the energy of the game.
Evan Lehnert worked effectively through the final two innings for the Roadrunners.
Offensively, the team was on point all around — with a total of 11 hits, highlighted by two hit contests from Noah Scharer, Chanz Flores and Aiden Hazen.
Game two was much of the same.
Talon McGrorty got the start and the win, allowing the lone MHCC run in four innings of work.
A trio of Caiden Thomsen, Preston Daniels and Jake Johnson each pitching a scoreless inning after him brought the Roadrunners the win.
In the top of the fourth, Boston Caron waited patiently for the 1-0 pitch and jumped on it. He crushed it. There was no doubt it was going over the fence, but there was a doubt if it would end up fair or not.
It did, and the Beaks had their second dinger of the 2026 season, as well as their second of the day.
“It felt amazing to get a hold of that ball, and even more amazing to celebrate it with my boys in the dugout,” Caron said.
In game two, Mark Carpenter led the team offensively going 2-4 while Nick Biagi had a two RBI performance.
“We feed off each other’s energy and really trust each other. Everyone is focused on doing their job and not trying to do too much,” Biagi said.
Headed back home for a March 25 doubleheader against Chemeketa, the team rode their momentum; winning 10-2 in game one and 9-2 in game two.
In the first game, an all around team offensive performance powered the massive win. Every Roadrunner starter but one had a hit in the game.
Lane Simonsen got the start and pitched four innings, allowing both Chemeketa runs but striking out six batters.
“Today the curveball was working well for me and (Hazen, his batterymate), but really trusting in him and my defense when I did attack guys and having confidence in each other was really the main thing today for me,”
Castillo took over after him and went for four innings of his own, yet again allowing zero runs and picking up the win.
Thomsen made his way through the ninth with little trouble.
The team finished 11-35 from the dish and worked three bases on balls in game one.
Game two was yet another game of very active Roadrunner bats, but for one player — freshman first baseman Chanz Flores, the day meant just a bit more.
“I was seeing the ball well today. I kept a middle away approach the entire day. These games meant a lot to me, more than you’ll know. I lost my grandpa (the day before the games), so I was really glad we won both games,” Flores said.
Flores finished the game 3-6 with two RBIs — an inspired performance that was just a small part in another dominant performance by LBCC.
Cooper Yudishthu was the starter for the Beaks in this one.
Head coach Andy Peterson let the freshman shove for five innings, allowing a lone run and three hits while striking out five.
Yudishthu has been consistently effective all year anchoring the back end of the rotation, pitching to a 2.28 ERA.
“I attack every game the same. I attack with inside two-seams and try to get ahead. To better hitters, I try to attack more with my slider. My curveball has been very impactful as a strikeout pitch this season,” Yudishthu said, “No matter what the results of a game are, I can have peace of mind knowing I did everything I could to be the best version of myself.”
Lehnert took the ball for the sixth and seventh innings, where he also allowed a run. The freshman has been seeing increased usage as of late in relief.
Johnson and Kyle Miller were called upon to work through the eighth and ninth, each of whom finished without allowing any runs.
At large, this week was a huge one for LBCC baseball.
The team has improved to a collective .257 batting average, getting on base at a .383 clip.
Hazen currently leads the team in average at .366 (min. 30 at-bats), while he and fellow sophomore Biagi are tied as team leaders in OBP (.458).
LB pitchers have a collective ERA of 2.85 and a WHIP of 1.16, a pair of objectively phenomenal figures for an entire staff.
Beaks’ starters have, of course, played their role great all season, but it’s the bullpen that’s been the statistical shining star as of late, Roadrunner relievers have allowed just two earned runs over the team's past five games — all of which wins.
Defensively, the team has really tightened up as well, committing just one error over CCC and MHCC series.
Things are coming together in a big way at the exact middle point in the regular season schedule.
22 down, 22 to go.
LBCC is 19-3 (11-3 in region games) and currently sits atop the NWAC South standings.
The Beaks next action is yet again against Chemeketa, at home on Saturday, March 28. Start times are 1 and 4 p.m. for those contests.
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