Huskies rally from three down to knock off Madras

AURORA -- Coming off of a disappointing loss in Madras Monday, the Huskies bounced back to knock off the White Buffaloes in Game 2 of a 3-game season series.

It took a couple innings for the teams to get going, as the first run came by Madras in the top of the third inning. North Marion junior Spencer Beachy pitched well in the first two innings. However, Madras used four hits in the third to push across three runs in the inning, and jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

The Huskies immediately responded in their half of the third inning. Senior Chandler Willcuts had an infield single and advanced to second on a Madras throwing error. Junior Brandan Hopper was hit hard right in the knee by a pitch by Madras' hurler Kyle Palmer. Palmer continued to struggle to find the zone as two consecutive wild pitches advanced the runners and scored Willcuts. Senior Ian Moore grounded out to score Hopper, pulling North Marion to within 3-2.

In the fifth inning, White Buffaloes' third baseman Theron Spino hit a ball hard, two feet short of leaving the yard. He made it two second on the double with no outs. Sensing trouble, North Marion coach Randy Brack made the pitching change to bring senior Adam Hayden to the mound. Hayden used two strikeouts and a caught baserunner to get out of the inning untouched.

The Huskies fifth inning resulted in a trip around the bases for Brandan Hopper. He was walked to reach first, advanced to second on a stolen base, advanced to third on a Madras throwing error, and scored via an obstruction call, where Spino faked a tag at third. The game was tied at 3.

Madras was shut down in the sixth and it was the Huskies turn to capitalize. Senior shortstop Robert Ramirez reached on a walk which prompted a pitching change by the White Buffaloes. On the second pitch of the reliever's tenure, junior DH Brandon Royal belted a ball to the center field warning track, scoring Ramirez all the way from first. The Huskies took a 4-3 lead. There were several baserunners as the inning wore on, but Madras stopped the bleeding before any more runs could score.

The White Buffaloes last three outs were used up by a foul pop out bunt, a strikeout, and a popout to shallow center to end the game.

The Huskies finish the first two rounds of league play at 6-4. They will play the Molalla Indians this Friday, May 6 5pm at Bob Brack Stadium. The Huskies handled Molalla easily in the first two meetings, beating them by a combined score of 12-2.

Next week, the Huskies continue the final tour through the Tri-Valley conference with a Monday game at La Salle, a Wednesday game at home vs. Gladstone, and an away meeting with Estacada on Friday. They end the regular season with another home visit with Madras on Monday, May 16. All games are at 5pm.

With Wednesday's win, the Huskies have already clinched a play-in game, the rest of the regular season will be focused on trying to move up and win a home play-in game, and a conference championship.

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