After Its Close Encounter, Nic Sees Wrong Numbers

College baseball/softball

5-5-7-1-2-0-1.

That’s not the phone number for pizza delivery. It’s College of Southern Idaho’s linescore in a Region 18 North baseball game on Friday.

It added up to 21 runs on 23 hits, including three home runs by James Close, a 21-1 victory and a torturous afternoon for North Idaho College.

“You throw the ball down the middle, they’re going to hit it out,” said NIC coach Paul Manzardo, who had several relatives visiting from Michigan in attendance. “Maybe that will wake up our staff a little bit.”

If it didn’t, surely the ringing of baseball meeting aluminum bats did. CSI’s Gage Grant singled on Travis Pool’s first pitch. Close sent the second pitch over the fence, and NIC center fielder Jason Bay sprained his ankle in pursuit.

Graig Merritt added a two-run homer before the inning was over, and Close hit a three-run shot, his 10th, in the second.

“I opened my stance up a little bit last week, and maybe I’m seeing the ball better,” said Close, who has signed a letter of intent with UNLV.

Southern Idaho’s 14th-ranked Eagles (29-5 overall, 8-1 league) tacked up seven more runs in the third inning to take a 17-0 lead. Close launched the last of CSI’s seven homers, a solo rocket in the seventh.

The game was called after the seventh under the 20-, er, 10-run rule.

“I felt we were really focused and came up here to tend to business,” CSI coach Jim Walker said. “But today was April 10th. Tomorrow’s April 11th, and you’ve got to go prove it again.”

This was expected to be a hitfest, but CSI did most of the swinging. NIC’s Cardinals, batting .373 as a team, managed seven hits, including Chris Pendell’s homer, but their bats were mostly muzzled by CSI pitcher Craig Mosher.

Mosher, drafted in the 12th round last year by the Texas Rangers, fanned nine while keeping his fastball low and virtually unhittable on the inside corner.

“He hit his spots, and you’re going to get those calls if you’re consistent,” said Manzardo, whose club dropped to 14-12, 4-5. “Merritt (the catcher) barely had to move his glove.”

Bay, whose ankle was swollen, left the game in the fourth inning, but he said he’ll play in today’s doubleheader.

Close had five hits, five runs and seven RBIs. CSI’s No. 6 (Merritt), No. 8 (Mike Gillies) and No. 9 hitters (Eddie Guerrero) each hit homers.

“The reports we got were that this is one of (Walker’s) best teams,” Manzardo said. “We have to bounce back (today) if we have any kind of athletes and competitiveness.”

Southern Idaho 21, North Idaho 1

CSI 557 120 1 - 21 23 1

NIC 001 000 0 - 1 7 5

Mosher and Merritt; Pool, Thomas (2), Owens (4) and Pendell. W - Mosher (8-1). L - Pool (1-2).

HITS: CSI - Grant 2, Close 5, Silvey 4, Gretz 3, Manley, Merritt 2, Finney, Gillies 2, Guerrero 2, Johnston. NIC - Bevacqua, Bay, Mason 2, Miller, Pendell, Lynch. 2B - Close. HR - Close 3 (10), Merritt (4), Gillies (4), Pendell (3), Gretz (10), Guerrero (3).

Neal Andrade homered and doubled as Portland State (11-18, 1-8) rallied from a 5-0 deficit to defeat visiting Washington State 9-6 in the Pacific-10 Conference North.

David Ferres went 4 for 5 as the Vikings pounded out 15 hits against four Cougars pitchers. Starter Jamaal Gaines of WSU (14-14, 4-4) allowed 12 hits and seven runs in 4-1/3 innings.

Greg Mitchell hit a three-run homer to right in the third to stake WSU to a 5-0 lead. PSU scored four in the fourth, three in the fifth and two in the sixth.

The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader today. Todd Meldahl (3-3) and Dave Wheeler (1-2) are WSU’s projected starters.

Chris Pine (4-2) struck out 12 and threw seven shutout innings as Oregon State (21-17-1, 6-2) defeated Washington 4-2 at Corvallis, Ore., to take over first place in the Pac-10 North.

Joe Gerber’s two-run single in the third started the Beavers toward a 4-0 lead. The Huskies (20-10, 6-3) had the go-ahead run at the plate in the ninth, but Kyle Woods flied out to the warning track in right field.

Seth Samsell struck out seven in 8-1/3 innings and freshman Ben Potter hit a solo homer as Puget Sound (9-17, 5-6) edged Whitworth 3-2 at Tacoma.

Whitworth errors led to Loggers runs in the first and third.

Brad Medlock earned the save with a strikeout and fielder’s choice. Mark Miller and Chad Ripke hit solo homers for the Pirates (7-14, 5-9).

The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader today.

Softball

Maryon DeWitt and Kim Burton held North Idaho College in check as Ricks College swept the Cardinals 6-2, 4-1 in a Region 18 doubleheader at Rexburg, Idaho.

DeWitt scattered four hits and Burton allowed two, both singles. Both Vikings pitchers struck out five.

Denise Devereaux doubled in the first game, the lone extra-base hit for NIC (10-17) during the day. The Cardinals’ Darci Amundson had hits in both games.

Lewis & Clark (9-13) slapped out 16 hits, all singles, to sweep Whitworth 3-2, 4-2 in an NCIC doubleheader at Portland.