North Marion sneaks by Estacada in 13-12 slugfest
ESTACADA, Ore. - Just one day after making the trip to Estacada all for not, things appeared to be heading that direction on Thursday night also, as the rain and hail poured down just two batters into the game. The result of the inclement weather was a 23 minute delay, however the game was able to be continued. North Marion used big middle innings including a four-run inning and a five-run inning to take large leads throughout the game. But Estacada played their signature late game comeback card in this game also, as the Rangers made things worrisome for North Marion in the late innings. Nonetheless, the Huskies, behind a Brandan Hopper triple, picked up just enough runs in the top of the seve
nth to survive a three-run Ranger bottom of the seventh, and cling on to the 13-12 win.
Zach Williamson represented the game's first baserunner as he reached via a walk, followed by a stolen base to acheive second. In the middle of a Tristan Wampole at bat, hail could be heard off in the distance and before you knew it, it was upon the baseball field in full force. The game was promptly paused and the teams spent time avoiding the moisture in the dugout. The precipitation subsided after about ten minutes, but a lot of damage had been done to the mostly exposed field. 'Lake Estacada' as some might call the gigantic puddle in right-center field grew even larger, but nothing could be done about that. The batter's circle was more of a concern as the whole coaching staff went to work. After eleven minutes of working on the area - which included adding dirt and scooping water off with water bottles - we were finally ready to resume the game. Wampole - who had 23 minutes to dwell on his 1-2 count - belted a ball to deep left field, as the ball landed near the outfield fence. The hit made a splash both figuratively and literally, as it scored Zach Williamson and gave North Marion the early 1-0 run.
The Rangers, despite the somewhat divided attention between the game and their field preparations, did not take long to get going themselves. Although Estacada only had one ball drop for a base hit in the inning, the Huskies sure helped the Rangers along including three free passes and an error. Estacada had their first lead after the first inning at 3-1.
One of the biggest offensive innings of the season came for North Marion in the top of the second. Robles started things off with a double down the left field line. Danny was promptly advanced to third on a wild pitch. Nat Barrell productively grounded out, as his ground ball to the shortstop scored Robles. The two outs did not faze the Huskies, as the inning was just getting started. Breshears walked, Kyle Williamson singled, and Zach walked to load the bases for Brandan Hopper. Hopper continued his hot hitting as of late with a base hit up the middle, bringing home two. The bases were loaded once again a few batters later for Wyatt Moore. Wyatt was coming off of a 4-RBI performance on Monday and he matched that stat line with a 4-RBI game Thursday also. Moore singled up the middle, which brought home two runs and the Huskies' fifth of the inning. The four-hit inning, three of which came with two outs, resulted in a 6-3 Husky lead.
Things slowed up for a short period of time, as after a one-inning break, North Marion fired up the offense again. Zach Williamson and Hopper both reached on base hits, and the bases were loaded once again for Moore. He converted again with a single through the hole at short. Barrell also had a base hit to right-center field, which handed him two RBIs of his own. Another four-hit inning granted North Marion a 10-4 lead.
This six-run advantage would stick for a while, but the Rangers combined for five runs in their halves of the fifth and sixth innings. Two runs came in the fifth for Estacada off of three hits. In the sixth, Estacada plated three runs with Beachy now on the mound. After the two heavily-offensive innings for the Rangers, the game sat at 10-9 heading into the seventh.
The way Estacada's offense had been rolling, the visitors knew they needed to score some runs in order to give them a cushion into the bottom of the seventh. Barrell continued a solid day as he started off the inning with a single. Breshears bunted Nat over to second, and he even advanced to third on a wild pitch. Zach Williamson placed himself on second base after a walk and a steal. Brandan Hopper stepped in in the all important situation, and he converted in nearly the best way possible. Brandan smacked a pitch to deep, deep right field, as the ball was literally two feet short of a homerun, bouncing off the top half of the outfield wall. Not only did Hopper score the two runners on base, he scored himself a few pitches later off of a wild pitch. North Marion held a 13-9 advantage.
Beachy continued his relief pitching into the bottom of the seventh, when he faced adversity from Estacada batters. Freshman Jordan Kendall was called upon to close things out, and he did just that. After three hits resulted in three runs, Jordan stepped in to retire the final two Rangers. Kendall accomplished this by forcing a fielder's choice, and striking out the final Estacada batter. The Huskies had survived yet another near comeback by the Rangers, who are still desperately awaiting their first league win.
Brandan Hopper, Wyatt Moore, and Nat Barrell could all be pointed at as the most valuable players offensively. Hopper went three-for-three with four RBIs, three runs scored, and the aformentioned triple. Wyatt matched 'B-Hop' with four RBIs of his own off of two singles and one run scored. Nat Barell picked up three RBIs on his two base hits. As a team, North Marion had the 13 runs on 11 hits. Robles and Wampole each notched doubles, and Kyle Williamson and Zach Williamson recorded singles.
Brock Breshears pitched the opening five innings for North Marion, allowing seven hits and six earned runs while walking five. Although the numbers weren't flashy for Brock, he put his team in the position to claim the win. Breshears was credited with the win on the mound. Beachy pitched one inning and one out of relief ball for the Huskies, allowing six runs on six hits during that time period. Jordan Kendall got the save after retiring the final two Estacada threats in six pitches.
With the win, North Marion evens out their league record with four wins and four losses. They will attempt to further their winning ways as of late with a trip to Madras for a Friday contest with the White Buffaloes, beginning at 5pm.