Johnson's yard work salvages split with L-C State

Catcher Ben Johnson's two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth carried Washington to a 7-6 victory over NAIA power Lewis-Clark State Wednesday. The Huskies (24-12) welcomed back starters Marc Rittenhouse and Jefferson Thiel while salvaging a split against the two-time national champion Warriors (42-11).

"It was awesome to see J.T. and Rit," said Husky coach Ken Knutson. "I personally felt it was a huge release to see those experienced guys that will be playing all the time. And they had nice days."

Washington was down by one with two outs when Thiel drove a base hit up the middle to bring up Johnson.

"I thought Johnson's home run was critical, but the at-bat Jefferson had was spectacular," Knutson said. After falling behind in the count, Johnson launched a Wes Hutchinson (2-3) fastball deep into the night to give Washington the win. Johnson, a freshman from Bellevue, picked an opportune time to hit his first career home run.

"[Hutchinson] had struck me out two at-bats prior, so I was just thinking, 'Keep my hands back, keep my hands back,'" said Johnson. "I got behind in the count, saw a couple pitches. The main thing was just drive it up the middle, just like J.T. Keep my hands back, see the ball and I got a fastball down the middle."

The Huskies nearly gave the game away in the top of the inning. With Scott Robertson (3-0) on the mound, the Huskies turned a double play to get two quick outs. But after a walk and a double, defensive replacement Jay Knowlton knocked a breaking ball over the right-field fence to give the Warriors a 6-5 advantage.

Robertson got two quick strikes on Knowlton, with Knowlton waving weakly at his breaking ball. However, Knowlton fouled of three pitches before his home run gave L-C State its first lead of the day.

"It was too bad the way it ended," Knutson said. "If we make a play in the ninth, the game's over. We hung a breaking ball that gets hit nine miles."

Three key players have returned to the diamond in the last two games. On Tuesday, starting pitcher Sean White made his first start in a month, going three innings. Yesterday, Thiel went 1-for-4 with a big run and Rittenhouse tallied two singles in four at-bats.

With the dramatic win and returning players, the Huskies are excited about this weekend's series against Washington State.

"It's a good motivator to get us back on the track we're supposed to be," said Rittenhouse. "As long as we keep coming back out there we're going to be strong."