In the Media: Huskies snap three-game losing streak with back-to-back wins against Molalla
AURORA — The North Marion baseball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a pair of wins over Molalla last week to open the Tri-Valley Conference season.
The Huskies kicked off the regular season with a 6-0 shutout of the Indians on April 5 at home and followed that performance with a 6-2 win on the road Thursday.
North Marion coach Randy Brack hopes the back-to-back wins will be just what the team needs to erase the memories of a dismal stretch where the Huskies lost four games in four days.
Heading into conference play, the Huskies sandwiched a win against Willamette with a pair of losses against Marist and Astoria and then were swept in a doubleheader against Siuslaw.
“We played better defense and swung the bat a little better (against Molalla),” said Brack. “It was an improvement, but we’ve still got a ways to go. We still need to get better in all of those phases. The six-game week before that was tough on us, because you play so many games. I was a little disappointed in some of the efforts. We were giving away outs when we should have been making some outs. Mistakes are going to happen but some of those need to be eliminated. And last week, they were.”
Against the Indians, North Marion played nearly flawless defense behind a pair of solid pitching performances by Kip Pearson and Spencer Beachy.
Pearson tossed a complete game two-hit shutout on April 5, allowing no walks and one hit batsman, while striking out eight to lead the team to a 6-0 victory.
“He was pretty much in control the whole game,” said Brack.
The senior hurler also added a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to spark the Huskies’ offense.
Brandon Hopper, Ian Moore and Chandler Willcuts all had two hits apiece for the Huskies in the win, with Hopper leading the way with two runs scored.
Pearson and Beachy tied for the team-lead with two RBIs apiece.
On Thursday, Beachy took the mound for the Huskies and led the Huskies to their second straight win and “did what he’s been doing all year,” said Brack.
Beachy went the distance, scattering seven hits, allowing two earned runs, while striking out seven and walking just one.
“He keeps hitters off-balance, gets a lot of ground balls and fly balls and usually doesn’t strike out very many guys,” said Brack. “I think that was his high strikeout total of the year.”
“He just hung in there and does a really good job,” Brack said.
Beachy’s submarine-style delivery gives him somewhat of an advantage, said Brack, because opposing hitters don’t typically have much experience with that kind of arm angle.
“He doesn’t throw real hard, and usually (submarine-style pitchers) don’t throw real hard. They just get guys out. Everybody plays with a lot of confidence behind him because they know he’s going to throw strikes and they’re going to get chances to make plays. A lot of times, that makes you feel more prepared to play.”
Offensively, the Huskies tallied just six hits in the game, but took advantage of five Molalla errors.
Most of North Marion’s offensive production came from its seven, eight and nine hitters, who combined for five RBIs on four base hits.
Danny Robles led the team with two hits, while Adam Hayden and Robert Ramirez both had two hits each.
Beachy was hitless at the plate, but led the Huskies with two runs scored.
The Huskies (8-5 overall, 2-0 TVC) were scheduled to play at La Salle on Monday, but results were unavailable at press time.
On Friday, North Marion will host La Salle (5-4, 2-0) at 5 p.m.