NM capitalizes on Hidden Valley pitching struggles

AURORA – Hidden Valley entered Wednesday’s matchup as the fourth-highest scoring club in all of 4A baseball. North Marion took a page out of the Mustangs’ book in an 11-5 first round state playoff victory in front of a large and lively crowd at Bob Brack Stadium.

Both teams posted a single tally in the opening inning. Hidden Valley (17-9) took advantage of some defensive miscommunication on an easy pop-up and would go on to score via an RBI single. Kyle Williamson came around to score North Marion’s (21-7) first run of the game on an RBI ground out from Josiah Ramon.

The Huskies snatched their first lead of the game in the second, a lead which would later grow much bigger. In the frame, Kyle Williamson knocked home two on an RBI double and granted North Marion a 3-1 lead.

After the Mustangs narrowed the lead to 3-2, the Huskies exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning. Starting pitcher James Chastain began to slow down as he struggled to find the strike zone. Reliever Jarid Norberg allowed four hits and a walk in just six batters faced. Nat Barrell pushed home two on a two-RBI single to put North Marion on top 5-2. Additional runs came on an RBI single by Shane McKillip, a two-RBI triple by Kyle Williamson, a wild pitch by Norberg, and an RBI single by Emry Patterson.

Hidden Valley showed they still had a pulse in the top of the sixth, striking for three runs off of four hits in their most productive inning of the day. But the Huskies tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the frame and slammed the door shut in the seventh to cruise to victory.

Kyle Williamson – who was newly named first team all-state and conference player of the year – continued to use his red hot bat to help the Huskies find success. Kyle recorded a double, a triple, and four RBIs to up his overall average for the season to .494. Nat Barrell had his best performance of the season from the batter’s box, going two-for-three with three RBIs.

Hidden Valley scattered ten hits off of starting pitcher Brock Breshears, but the Huskies senior hurler allowed just one walk. The Mustangs pitching staff combined to surrender five walks and four hit batsmen.

With the win, North Marion improved to 21-7 overall and 13-3 in home contests. The Huskies better their all-time state playoff record to 26-27 and 8-9 in first round games. Going in to Wednesday’s matchup, the Huskies were 2-5 when the opponent scored first, but North Marion was able to reverse that trend. The Huskies also improved their record to 5-0 when scoring ten or more runs and 7-0 in games separated by five or more runs. Eleven runs was the second-highest amount of runs that Hidden Valley had given up all season long.

The Huskies 11-5 win was their first postseason win since 2010 and first playoff win at Bob Brack Stadium since 2006. North Marion advances to the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs where they await the winner of Scappoose and La Grande. No matter who the opponent, the game will be right back in the friendly confines of Bob Brack Stadium at 5pm.

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