North Marion grants Tigard extra opportunities, falls 9-4
TIGARD, Ore. - Who knew one play could make such a big difference? One could learn that lesson quite easily by watching Saturday's inter-classification matchup between the Huskies and the 6A Tigard Tigers from Tigard High School. In the scrimmage-type atmosphere of Saturday's game, North Marion made two vital mistakes, mistakes that would turn out to be fatal. A simple error in the Tigers four-run second inning and one strike in the Tigers five-run fifth inning were two errors that the Huskies would not be able to recover from, almost single-hand
idly leading to all nine of Tigard's runs in the contest.
North Marion struck first early on when Kyle Williamson - who is second on the team in doubles - doubled yet again, this time to deep center on Tigard's unconventionally-shaped field. Zach Williamson moved Kyle over as he hit a ground ball. Brandan Hopper - who would go on to have a career day from the plate - earned his first hit of the day to score Kyle and give the Huskies the early 1-0 lead.
Spencer Beachy was on the mound in the early goings for North Marion. He cruised through the first inning, but by the time the second inning rolled around, he ran into trouble after his defense could not make a routine play. With a runner on first for the Tigers, Beachy threw a ground ball which routinely rolled to Breshears at second base. Brock went to shovel the ball over to Kyle Williamson who was covering second, but the two couldn't connect and the play went down as an E4. Things went straight downhill from there, as Tigard scored on a steal of home, two singles, a triple, and a balk before the inning was graciously ended with four runs of damage.
As the Huskies so often do, they hit the comeback trail trying to recover the early three-run deficit. Zach Williamson and Hopper each jump started the inning with singles of their own. Then a de facto two-run, two-error play took place as Wyatt Moore hit a slow-roller to the shortstop, who could not cleanly field the ball. Williamson scored on that error, and Hopper tried to reach home also. However, Brandan got caught in a temporary rundown before the Tigers' catcher hurled a ball - meant for third base - into left field, allowing Hopper to nonchalantly touch home.
Despite pulling the game within a single one at 4-3, trouble found the Huskies' doorstep once again in the fourth inning. Danny Robles was on the mound for North Marion at this point, and he quickly retired the first two Tigard batters. Later in the inning, he reached 0-2 on a batter, but gave up a base hit on the ensuing pitch, giving Tigard life in the inning. When all was said in done in the fourth stanza, the Tigers had tallied five runs off of four hits to jump out to a 9-3 lead.
North Marion tried to hit the comeback trail several times, but fell short. In the fifth, Hopper doubled to right field, scoring Zach Williamson who had also reached via a base hit. This fourth run would represent the last run that the Huskies could muster.
Jordan Kendall was superb in relief, pitching the final five outs for North Marion. He forced four fly outs and one ground out, using just ten pitches to achieve the final one and two thirds. Another pitching highlight was Beachy's zero earned runs and three strike outs.
Offensively, Brandan Hopper, as mentioned, had a career day, going 4/4. Hopper singled twice and doubled twice, resulting in two RBIs and a run scored himself. Kyle and Zach Williamson each recorded two hits of their own - Kyle scoring once and Zach doing so twice. Recording single hits for North Marion were Robles, Royal, and Breshears. The Huskies did out-hit Tigard 11-9, but the all-important error in the second made the difference in the game.
North Marion gets back into league play this week, where they will be in an away-and-home situation with Gladstone. Game one is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Tuesday in Gladstone, whereas the second game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday versus the same Gladiators.