Offense warms up late, Huskies clinch conference title
AURORA - Not many would have predicted a 10-2 final score after what transpired in the first few innings, but North Marion's offense - which faced a 7-1 hit deficit heading into the bottom of the third - finally got on track to knock off Gladstone and clinch a Tri-Valley Conference Championship. The Huskies used a seven-hit, seven-run fifth inning to break the game wide open, securing the series win over the Gladiators.
Gladstone (10-12, 6-7) didn't wait to get their bats going, as they recorded four hits in the first frame. A double and three singles brought home just two runs for the Gladiators, but nonetheless, they grabbed the momentum early on.
After escaping the second and third innings with two runners left on base, North Marion (16-7, 12-1) evened the score in the third. Junior Kyle Williamson smashed a double over the left fielder's head, bringing home Sophomore Shane McKillip who had reached on a single. Kyle himself was scored on a base hit up the middle by Junior Tristan Wampole.
Any chance of Gladstone pulling off the upset was completely eliminated in the fifth inning, when the Huskies erupted for seven runs - the second largest single-inning run total of the season. With the bases loaded, the Huskies scored their first run on another RBI single by Tristan Wampole - bringing his team-leading RBI count to 24. Other scoring plays came on an RBI single by Wyatt Moore, two-RBI double by Nat Barrell, and an RBI single from Shane McKillip. Other runs came around to score on a pair of Gladiator errors.
North Marion put the icing on the cake in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Kyle Williamson touched home for the third time on the day - bringing the score to 10-2.
Gladstone's lineup went down in order in the seventh, as Wyatt Moore capped off a league championship with a strikeout to close out the game.
Two-hit days for the Huskies came from Shane McKillip (RBI), Keltin Boykin, Tristan Wampole (2 RBIs), and Kyle Williamson (2 doubles, 3 runs scored.) North Marion ended up topping Gladstone in the hit column 12-10.
Wyatt Moore (5-3, 2.09) earned the victory on the mound after tossing the complete game. Moore used 105 pitches and seven strikeouts to get the win.
The Huskies claimed their first conference championship since the 2010 season - a team who went 15-3 in the Capital Conference. With a surprising La Salle Prep loss on Monday evening, the Huskies not only clinched the championship, but they clinched it outright with no tiebreakers necessary. The 2013 Tri-Valley Conference Championship is the 16th conference championship in the baseball program's history.
North Marion's regular season schedule is down to just two games - a Wednesday date in Estacada and a Friday matchup with Madras. Both games begin at 5p.m., and Friday's contest is Senior Night. The Huskies are guaranteed a bye in the play-in round, advancing to the first round of the OSAA State Championships with a game slated for May 22nd.