LEWISTON, Idaho -  Memories of the 2024 CCC tournament may have come flooding back for the Beacons on Friday morning as they established a strong presence at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament presented by U.S. Bank, needing just seven innings to defeat Oregon Tech, 18-4.
 
The Beacons pounded out 13 including three extra-base knocks and rode the arm of junior Austin Wolfe's (pictured) complete game. It was the most runs scored by the Beacons in post-season play.
 
Just two years ago, the Beacons strolled into Lewiston for their first CCC tournament and rode three straight wins to claim the conference tournament and advance to their lone appearance in the NAIA national championship.
 
Bushnell was firing on all cylinders from the jump, opening with a two-run bottom of the first as Nate Stevens hit a two-run single.
 
The floodgates opened in the bottom of the third as Bushnell pushed nine runs across the plate, highlighted by a three-run homer by the No. 9-hitter, Caleb Richter. From there, the Beacons continued to feast on more of the Owl bullpen, scoring four in the fourth and three in the sixth to claim the "ten-after-seven" run-rule win.
 
In a year full of impressive pitching performances for the Beacons, Wolfe (7-3) provided another marquee moment, allowing three earned runs and striking out seven batters in his first career complete game, a 110-pitch affair. The junior hurler ties former teammate Trevor Hammond for the school single-season record for victories.
 
Eight of Bushnell's nine starters collected a hit in the game, and the other, Danny Womack was still able to reach base and score twice. Chase Nye led the way with a 3-for-3 day and three runs scored while Albert Jennings, Richter, and Stevens added two hits apiece. Stevens finished with four RBI while Dylan Carson batted 1-for-2 with a double and three runs driven in.
 
For the Owls, Andrew Sharp was anything but dull, batting 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, scoring three RBI for the bulk of the OIT offense. Starter Landon Cheney (4-5) went 2.1 innings before being lifted during the rough nine-run third.
 
UP NEXT: The fourth-seeded Beacons advantage in the winners bracket and will face off against tournament host, top-seed, and NAIA No. 4-ranked Lewis-Clark State at 6:00 pm on Friday. Oregon Tech drops into the losers bracket where they will continue play on Saturday at 11:00 am.