VANCOUVER, WA - Clark College and Olympic split a hard-fought doubleheader Thursday at Kindsfather Field, with both games decided by a single run in a day defined by timely hits, missed chances, and late-inning drama.

Clark (5–10, 1–1) opened the afternoon with a gritty 4–3 victory, leaning on pitching and execution to outlast Olympic (9–15, 1–1). Despite being outhit in the opener, Clark made the most of its opportunities. Taddeo Ituarte led the way with two RBIs, including a bases-loaded walk in the seventh that proved to be the difference.

After falling behind 2–1 early—on a pair of unearned runs—Clark responded with composure. Kobin Mullins tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the fourth before the Penguins broke through in the seventh. A wild pitch brought home the go-ahead run, and Ituarte followed with another RBI to extend the lead.

On the mound, Rylan Taguchi delivered a steady performance, going 7.1 innings while allowing just two runs, both unearned. The bullpen held late, with Jacob Long securing the save despite Olympic pushing across a run in the ninth to make things tense.

Game 2 followed a similar script—but this time, Olympic flipped the outcome.

Olympic capitalized on early defensive miscues to score two unearned runs in the first inning and held that edge deep into the game. Clark struggled to generate offense early but stayed within striking distance, finally breaking through in the sixth and tying the game in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Caden Taylor.

The decisive blow came in the eighth inning, when Olympic strung together three RBI singles to take a 5–2 lead—the largest cushion of either game. Clark answered immediately, rallying for two runs in the bottom half behind a Drew Yount RBI single and a run-scoring fielder's choice, but couldn't complete the comeback.

Yount paced Clark in the nightcap with three hits, while Taylor drove in two runs. However, defensive lapses and control issues on the mound—Clark pitchers issued 10 walks—proved costly.

Across both games, the margin was razor thin. Clark showed an ability to manufacture runs and execute in key moments in the opener, while Olympic did the same late in Game 2. In total, the two teams combined for 16 runs, but it was the small details—walks, errors, and situational hitting—that ultimately dictated the split.

By day's end, both sides walked away with a win, and a clear takeaway: in evenly matched games like these, execution in the biggest moments makes all the difference.

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