In the Media: Piercey tosses one-hitter, leads Huskies to first win
AURORA — North Marion senior Joe Piercey did it all for the Huskies on Tuesday evening at North Marion High School.
The senior pitcher threw a complete game shutout and also scored the game’s lone run as the Huskies defeated Silverton, 1-0.
“(Piercey) was in complete control on the hill,” said North Marion coach Randy Brack.
While Brack said he was confident that Piercey was capable of going the distance, because of his off-season workout regimen, the Huskies coach said that was not his original intention.
His plan was to have three or four North Marion pitchers throw on Tuesday, just as he did in Monday’s 7-4 loss to Philomath.
At this point in the year, Brack plans to have three or four different pitchers during the course of the game, just as he did in Monday’s 7-4 loss to Philomath. However, with the chilly temperature, he felt it would be difficult to get anybody else warmed up and pitching effectively, with a wind chill bringing game time temperatures down to about 35 degrees.
“(Piercey) was just cruising along, so we decided to just stick with it and let it go,” said Brack.
Piercey, a returning first-team all-league and second-team all-state selection from last season, went on to strike out 13, while allowing just one hit, walking three and hitting one batter. Brack said the wildness is a little bit uncharacteristic from his senior ace, but he attributed that to over-throwing at times.
Defensively, he said the Huskies made the plays when they need to, but offensively, the team needs to get the offense moving.
“The part right now that I’m really disappointed in, is the way we’re swinging the bats,” he said. “We’re not going to win a bunch of games 1-0, even though our pitching has some depth and we have some kids I think are really going to do a good job, pitching-wise. … Right now, we’ve gotten no signs of run production. We’re trying to shore that up.”
The Huskies only had two hits in the game against Silverton, and scored their one run in the fifth inning without the benefit of a base hit.
Piercey led off the inning with a walk, and after stealing second, he was advanced to third base on a bunt by A.J. Miller.
Roberto Ramirez drove him in with a sacrifice fly.
Brack pointed to an over-abundance of strikeouts as being the biggest problem offensively. In two games, the Huskies have struck out 21 times in 39 at-bats — a rate of over 50 percent of North Marion’s plate appearances.
“And it’s not like we’re facing overpowering pitching,” added Brack. “We’re either taking too big of swings, or we’re taking fastballs right down the middle of the plate.”
He said if the team could put 11 balls in play, out of those 21 strikeouts, the outcomes of games could be completely different, figuring a few of those would go for base hits, while others would reach base on errors or move runners up.
“Just contact, putting the ball into play, at the high school level is so important,” he said.
The win improved North Marion to 1-1 on the season.
The Huskies will now face a gauntlet of top-tier competition, beginning with defending state champion Astoria on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Fishermen defeated North Marion in two of the Huskies’ most noteworthy losses of the season last year — a 19-2 blowout in the preseason, and an 8-3 loss in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
Next week, North Marion will host a spring break tournament, sponsored by Hubbard Chevrolet. The Huskies will play Banks on Tuesday at 10 a.m., and Marshfield at 4 p.m.
On Wednesday, the Huskies will play Central at 4 p.m.
On Friday, the Huskies will close out the preseason with a doubleheader against Newport, beginning at noon.