 | | Photo By Garrett Rudolph | | North Marion catcher Chase Sterett makes a swipe at a Gladstone runner during Friday’s 8-6 loss. Sterett later drove in two runs for the Huskies in the bottom of the seventh. |
|
By Garrett Rudolph
AURORA - In two previous meetings this season, the North Marion baseball team had been unable to muster any offense against Gladstone, being held scoreless in the 12 innings played.
So, when the Gladiators took a six-run lead into the sixth inning on Friday, hope for the Huskies seemed like a distant possibility. However, they never gave in to defeat, battling back to a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the seventh inning, with the potential winning run on first base, before falling by a final score of 8-6.
"I was very proud to see them not just hang their heads, because that's what happened the first time against these guys," said North Marion coach Craig Lambert, referring to the 10-0 beat-down the Gladiators administered on April 1. "We came back a long ways. We battled and for us, it was a huge psychological win, because this kid, (Gladstone pitcher Alex) Armstrong has just mentally had us."
Friday, Armstrong held North Marion hitless until Boomer Miller broke up the no-hit bid in the sixth inning with a single up the middle, and the Huskies began to chip away at Gladstone's 8-2 lead. Cheyne Fobert followed with an infield single, and Josh Wills drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, before centerfielder AJ Basille drove in two runs with a sharp single to right.
Basille then stole second base, but Gladstone escaped the inning when Wills was thrown out trying to take home.
While the North Marion momentum was briefly quelled, the Huskies picked up right where they left off in the bottom of the seventh.
Zack Miller, Robert Paradis and Carl Mason drew three consecutive walks to open the inning.
Armstrong was able to strike out Boomer Miller for the first out, but Chase Sterett cut the Gladstone lead in half, with a two-run single. Fobert drew a walk, and represented the potential game-winning run, at first base.
Gladstone coach Casey Webster made a pitching change, bringing Kevin Peterson into a bases-loaded, one-out situation with the game on the line. The move worked exactly as planned, as Peterson induced shortstop Steven Grigsby into a game-ending 1-2-3 double play.
The loss dropped North Marion's league record to 7-5, while first-place Gladstone improved to 10-1.
Friday's game ended in similar fashion as the second meeting between North Marion and Gladstone, in which the Huskies fell 2-0, after having the bases loaded with one out in the top of the seventh inning. In that game, Wills went the distance and held the potent Gladstone offense at bay, but he struggled with control his control on Friday.
In the second inning, the Gladiators took a 3-0 lead, with four walks and a single.
North Marion picked up its first run of the game in the bottom of the second, as Fobert reached base on a fielder's choice, then later scored on an error.
In the top of the third, Lambert had seen enough, after two walks, a stolen base and a passed ball put Gladiators on first and third with no outs.
Mason relieved Wills and gave up a pair of singles to the first two hitters he faced. A Husky throwing error gave Gladstone a 5-1 lead, but Mason settled down and retired the next three Gladiators in a row, although they were able to pick up one more run with a sacrifice fly.
After both North Marion pitchers struggled for the first three innings, Mason buckled down and held the Gladiators to just one more run over the game's final four innings.
For the entire game, Gladstone only managed one extra-base hit, and five hits total, but was able to take advantage of nine walks, two hit batsmen, and an error.
The Huskies had four hits, nine walks, and two Gladiator errors.
"If we won (Friday), we put ourselves in a great position to win out and have second place all by ourselves," said Lambert. "Now, next Friday is a huge game with Molalla."
On Wednesday, the Huskies beat Stayton, 4-1, behind a combined no-hitter from Wills and Bryant Hayes, although the Eagles drew six walks and a hit batsmen.
The Huskies will have four league games this week, including Estacada (0-11) on Tuesday, and Cascade (4-7) on Wednesday, before the key matchup with Molalla (7-4) at home on Friday. The Huskies have won both meetings with the Indians, earlier in the season, but still trail them in the standings.
|
