Moore near perfect through six, Huskies win Molalla series
AURORA, Ore. - Through six innings, junior Wyatt Moore was throwing a no-hitter and would have been throwing a perfect game if it weren't for one North Marion error. But in the seventh, the Indians scrambled for two hits off of Wyatt, but that did not hamper the Huskies' effort, as they cruised to the 6-2 win over Molalla at Bob Brack Stadium on Tuesday night.
One could tell Wyatt had his stuff going for him early on, as all three first inning Indian batters were retired via strike outs. Moore held Molalla once again in the second when he drew two groundouts followed by a pop out.
Scoreless into the bottom of the second, the game began to sway North Marion's direction when they got their offense rolling. It could
be said Moore began things offensively also, as he made the first solid contact of the game off of Molalla's pitcher. Although Moore was put out, he got the wheels rolling as Beachy followed Wyatt with a single that stayed just fair down the third base line. Nat Barrell followed up later with a single to his favorite spot - shortstop - to load the bases for the Huskies. Breshears made solid contact also, as he picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice, which scored Beachy. On the same play, the Indians threw the ball away, allowing Robles to score also, earning the Huskies the early 2-0 lead.
As Moore continued to hold the Indians' bats silent, the Huskies picked up right where they left off. To start out the third, Zach Williamson singled through the hole at short. Hopper replaced Zach on first after Brandan grounded into a fielder's choice. Wyatt Moore helped himself out on the mound by stepping in the batter's box and doubling to deep left field, as the ball rolled all the way to the base of the outfield fence - scoring Wampole. Wyatt was driven in a few batters later, courtesy of a Danny Robles single to left field.
Holding the 4-0 lead, North Marion started up the offense again in the bottom of the sixth inning. Although most of the attention was focused on the no-hitter that Moore had going on the other side of things, Nat Barrell started off the inning with a perfectly placed base hit which confused the Molalla fielders. Freshman Emery Patterson was inserted as pinch runner, and was moved along to third by the time two outs were achieved. Two seniors came up big for North Marion as Zach Williamson and Brandan Hopper had back-to-back singles - Zach's bringing in Emry. Wampole topped off the four-hit inning with a single of his own, bringing in Zach to inflate the Huskies' lead to six at 6-0.
Apprehension and excitement filled Bob Brack Stadium, as Wyatt was just three outs away from near perfection. With one out recorded, Schaefer of Molalla broke the ice with a single to shallow right field, just over the outstretched glove of Brock Breshears at second. A huge smirk crossed the face of Moore, knowing how close he got to the 'no-no.' Wyatt tossed a while longer in the seventh, but by the time he reached his 104th and final pitch, he had allowed two hits and two walks in the inning. Beachy came in for relief, allowing another run off of another hit, but ending the Molalla threat there - earning the save.
Wyatt's final stat line turned out to read: two hits allowed, two earned runs, and two walks while striking out five Molalla batters in his six and a third innings of work. Upon the game's completion, Moore was given a huge reception because of his amazing work on the day.
Offensively for the Huskies, Nat Barrell once again had a two-hit day - as he has been turning up the heat offensively as of late. Zach Williamson joined Nat with two hits of his own. Every Husky in the starting lineup earned at least one base hit besides Breshears, who helped out in his own way by driving in a run. The Huskies finished with the six runs off of ten hits, helped along by three Molalla errors.
The win ended Molalla's rejoicing over a short-lived two game winning streak, as the Huskies move to 5-6 in Tri-Valley Conference play. This win may have a big impact down the stretch on the final league standings, as the Indians - who are only a few spots above the Huskies in the league standings - now are in the hole in terms of head-to-head vs. North Marion. The win keeps the Huskies in the race to move up in the conference, and makes the upcoming games all the more important. Narrowing the horizion, however, the Huskies travel to La Salle on Thursday for a meeting with the Falcons. La Salle currently holds a 7-3 league record, but the Huskies kept in both games vs. the Falcons thus far. Game one between the two clubs went to eleven innings before La Salle finally came away with the one-run win. Game two was one play away from being close, as an error doomed the Huskies as La Salle went on to have a big inning thereafter. First pitch is 5pm from La Salle Prep on Thursday.