McMINNVILLE, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College baseball used a three-run fifth inning to take the lead for good and held on for an 8-6 win in their season-finale over host Linfield University. With the win, the River Otters clinched the third seed in the upcoming Northwest Conference Tournament and will play #2 Linfield in their playoff opener on Friday.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 8, Linfield 6
(Lewis & Clark 22-18, NWC 14-10)
(Linfield 23-17, NWC 15-9)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lewis & Clark came into the day needing a win or a loss by the University of Puget Sound to finish third in the NWC Standings. The River Otters went down twice early in the game but fought back with three runs in the fifth and two more in the eighth, to clinch the third seed and spoil the Wildcats' Senior Day.
Sophomore
Jacob Shannon-Wilkerson came through with the big hit, when he blasted a two-run homer to give Lewis & Clark the lead for good (6-4). Fellow sophomore
Will Michelman tied for the team lead with two RBI and tacked on a walk.
Juniors Michael Aikwa,
Bret Potter and
Evyn Lewis each recorded a team-high two hits. Aikawa went 2-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base. Potter chipped in a double, an RBI and a walk. E. Lewis registered two doubles, a run scored and an RBI.
Sophomore
Dillon Foster earned the start and went 3.2 innings. He allowed eight hits, one walk, four earned runs and struck out one.
The River Otters bullpen combined to allow two runs over the final 5.1 innings. Junior
Connor Broschard earned the win after allowing one hit and striking out one in 1.1 scoreless innings. Senior
Nate Kerr pitched a scoreless sixth with one hit, one walk and one strikeout. Sophomore
Matt Stanislavsky struck out one and allowed one run on one hit and one walk in the seventh. Potter came on for the final two innings and earned his fifth save after allowing three hits, one walk and one run and striking out two.
Lewis & Clark jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. In the top of the first, junior
Eli Steinhaus and Aikawa posted back-to-back singles to start the game off. After a Potter flyout moved Steinhaus to third, Michelman recorded an RBI groundout to give Lewis & Clark a 1-0 lead.
Michelman would add another RBI in the third. Aikawa started the rally with a one-out walk and raced to third on a Potter single. Michelman drove a ball to center field for a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Linfield immediately countered. The Wildcats recorded three-straight singles with two outs in the bottom of the third and Jevin Patterson cleared the bases with a three-run double to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.
The River Otters briefly tied the game in the top of the fourth. Senior
Joaquin Sandoval worked a leadoff walk and took second on a single from senior
Brandon Gonzaga. E. Lewis doubled down the left-field line to tie the score at 3-3 with one down.
The hosts grabbed the lead back in the fourth inning on a single, error, sac bunt and a wild pitch.
Lewis & Clark took the lead for good in the fifth. With two down, first year
Garrett Lewis doubled to right-center and senior
Joaquin Sandoval followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4. Shannon-Wilkerson followed with a two-run homer to left field to make it 6-4 River Otters.
Linfield cut the deficit in half in the seventh when Wyatt Hurley hit a solo home run to make it 6-5.
The visitors added two key insurance runs in the top of the eighth. E. Lewis led off with a double and moved to third on a Steinhaus sac bunt. Aikawa made it 7-5 with an RBI single. After an Aikawa steal, Potter followed with an RBI double to push the lead to 8-5.
Linfield answered with an Ely Kennel RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-6. Kennel moved to third with two down and the hosts brought the tying run to the plate. Potter struck out Josh Mansur swinging to extinguish the threat.
In the ninth inning, Potter conceded a leadoff double but then retired the next three batters to seal the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The River Otters 22 wins are the seventh-most wins in a single-season in program history and second-most under head coach Matt Kosderka. This year's Senior Class owns a 90-73-1 mark across their four seasons.
- Sandoval finished the game 1-1 with two runs scored, an RBI, two walks and a hit by pitch.
- Lewis & Clark set the program record for hit by pitches in a single-season (65) on Sunday. The 2026 team broke a tie with the 2022 team who posted 63 hit by pitches in 37 games.
- The River Otters went over 300 strikeouts for a season as a pitching staff. They own the program record for strikeouts in a single-season by 30 and counting. Lewis & Clark struck out seven batters on Sunday – it marked the 25th time this season they had struck out at least seven batters.
- Potter heads into the postseason one hit shy of tying Scott Russell for the program record for hits in a single-season (65). He has recorded 64 of his 125 career hits as a junior.
- Aikawa reached 50 hits (51), 40 RBI (40) and 30 walks (30) on the season on Sunday. He ranks tied for 12th in a single-season in RBI and tied for eighth in walks.
- Stanislavsky moved into the top-10 in program history for appearances by a pitcher in a single-season with 18. He sits tied for seventh for strikeouts in a single-season with 63.
- Potter moved into a tie for third all-time in program history for saves in a single-season with five.
WHAT'S NEXT
#3 Lewis & Clark will take on #2 Linfield on Friday in the Northwest Conference Tournament. The entire NWC Tournament will be hosted by top-seeded Whitworth University in Spokane.
