In the Media: Huskies shut out Molalla

AURORA — Lately, North Marion has spent more time battling the weather than opposing teams.

So for the Huskies to get in seven innings of baseball Tuesday, and come away with a 7-0 win over Molalla was something of a rarity, considering the recent rainstorms.

Junior pitcher Adam Hayden set the tone for the Huskies, allowing just two hits in five innings of work to earn the win.

It was the first time Hayden had pitched since tossing a complete game shutout on March 24 against Central at the Huskies’ spring break tournament. After allowing a pair of singles in the first inning, the lefthander settled into a groove, and finished the game with six strikeouts and three walks.

“I was expecting him to be a little bit rusty, and he was, but he still went out there and competed real well,” said North Marion coach Randy Brack. “Once he got under control and got out of that first inning, he was pretty much in command the rest of the way.”

Joe Piercey closed out the game for the Huskies, pitching perfect sixth and seventh innings, while striking out three, to secure the shutout. It was the fourth time this year the Huskies have held an opponent scoreless and stretched their current consecutive scoreless streak to 21 innings, between three different hurlers.

However, the Huskies’ offense continues to be the primary concern for Brack.

North Marion tallied just five hits for the game on Tuesday — all singles — but capitalized on seven walks, four passed balls, two errors and a hit batsman by Molalla to score its runs.

“Realistically, you take away a few passed balls and stuff and it’s like a 2-0 game,” said Brack. “Our offense is a work in progress, but I’d rather have us like that now than at the end of the season.”

Brack pointed to Ian Moore’s at-bat in the second inning as a bright spot for the team.

Moore, hitting in the No. 7 spot in the lineup, drove in Jordan Hopper with a clutch two-out single past the shortstop for North Marion’s first run of the game.

“That’s the kind of stuff we’re going to have to do,” said Brack. “We’re not going to get a lot of extra-base hits. We just don’t have those kinds of hitters, but we’re going to have to drive some baseballs and occasionally get a double or knock in a few runs.”

Another positive he saw was the way the team has begun to get more aggressive on the base paths, taking advantage of the situation any time runners get on base. The Huskies had seven stolen bases on Tuesday.

North Marion broke the game open with a six-run third inning. The Huskies loaded the bases without the benefit of a base hit. Still without getting a hit, Piercey, Zach Borowczak, A.J. Miller and Robert Ramirez all scored to give North Marion a 5-0 advantage.

After reaching base with an RBI single, Jordan Miller capped off the Huskies’ scoring by taking home on a passed ball.

The win improved North Marion’s record to 3-0 in the Capital Conference (8-3 overall). Molalla fell to 1-2 in league (4-5 overall).

The Huskies were scheduled to play at Stayton (1-3, 3-8) on Friday and La Salle (2-1, 2-8) on Saturday, followed by a home game against Gladstone (2-0, 5-3) on Monday.

Prior to Friday’s games, the Huskies and Gladiators were the last two unbeaten teams in the conference.

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