Sweet Home’s baseball team split a doubleheader with Sisters, winning 8-7 then losing 7-6 on the road Friday.
The games leave the Huskies, 5-2, tied for the lead with Junction City in the Sky-Em League while Sisters, 5-3, is in third.
“Going over to Sisters and getting one was big,” said Coach John Best. “We would’ve liked two. We definitely should have one both. They were both pretty tough.”
Sutherlin and Cottage Grove, each 4-4, are tied for fourth, and Elmira is in sixth with no wins.
The Huskies were scheduled to host Junction City and complete a partially played game at home on Tuesday. The game was the second in an doubleheader paused due to darkness. The teams were tied 8-8 in the eighth inning.
They will host Sutherlin in a doubleheader at 3 and 5 p.m. Friday and travel to Elmira on May 1.
Sweet Home 8, Sisters 7
The Huskies held on after watching the Outlaws whittle away a five-run lead in the first game.
“I don’t think we played very well,” Best said. “We were pumped for that game because we knew they were going to throw that (Zach) Morgan kid. He’s been the guy. Last year, he was Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. We prepared for him.
“Our bats were alive. We hit the ball well.”
It was a breakout game for some players, Best said. Nick Marler came up big. So did Keegan Holly and Fisher Anderson.
Holly got thing going singling on a pop fly out to center field. Holly stole second and advanced to third when Nathan Virtue grounded out to third. Colton Smith grounded out at third base and scored Holly.
Austin James reached on a passed ball followed by singles by Travis Thorpe and Zach Luttmer, scoring James and giving the Huskies a 2-0 advantage.
The Huskies scored again in the second inning to lead 3-0. Sisters scored in the bottom of the third, but Sweet Home brough in another three runs in the top of the fourth to lead 6-1.
Sweet Home jumped to a lead and got Morgan off the hill, Best said, and the Huskies hit kind of a lull as Turner Stutzman took the mound.
Sisters scored two runs in the bottom of four, while the Huskies answered in equal measure in the fifth to lead 8-3.
The Huskies made some mental and physical errors and let the Outlaws back into the game, Best said.
Sisters began closing the gap in the bottom of five, scoring Austin Lake on a walk, double and single. They scored twice more to get within two runs. They scored their final run in bottom of six with Christopher Luz, the only Outlaw on base, reaching base on an error and stealing second and home.
Both teams were three up, three down in the final inning.
“They’re scrappy,” Best said. “They don’t give up.”
Fisher Anderson did a really nice job pitching, Best said, and Zach Zanona got the save.
Anderson went four innings, giving up five runs, two earned, on six hits and three walks.
Zanona gave up two hits and two runs, one earned, with one strikeout.
For Sisters, Morgan went 4 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits and a walk, striking out five.
Stutzman gave up just one hit and struck out five Huskies.
At bat, Holly led Sweet Home going 3-3 with three rjuns.
Zach Luttmer, Marler and Virtue each went 2-4, Luttmer and Marler with a run and an RBI each and Virtue with four RBIs.
Anderson had one hit with a run and an RBI. Thorpe had one hit.
Luttmer, Marler and Virtue each had doubles.
Austin Morss and Garrett Vohs led the Outlaws at bat, Morss going 2-4 with two RBIs and Vohs going 2-4 with a run and an RBI.
Sweet Home 210 320 0 – 8 11 4
Sisters 001 231 0 – 7 8 1
Sisters 6, Sweet Home 5
“We started off not so good,” Best said. The Outlaws scored, the Huskies gave up some walks, committed an error, and then they “came back swinging.”
Sisters scored three in the first inning. Morss singled to reach base, advancing to third on an error and then scoring on a walk. Morgan scored on a passed ball, and Lake scored on a single by Taylor Fendall.
With Luttmer grounding out, and then Marler striking out swinging, Zanona got the Huskies going in the second inning, doubling on a fly ball to right field.
Anderson singled, scoring Zanona on the throw. Holly walked, and Virtue doubled to the right to score Anderson and Holly, tying the game at 3-3.
On two outs again, the Huskies went ahead 5-3 in the top of three when Anderson drove a double left scoring Luttmer, who grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Marler, who singled.
Then the Huskies had more errors, Best said, things that were uncharacteristic. Sisters “just ran with it.”
Both teams scored runs in the fourth, and Sisters put away the game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, ending the game due to darkness.
Anderson went 3-3 with a run and three RBIs to lead the Huskies at bat. Virtue went 2-3 with two RBIs.
Marler, James and Zanona each collected a hit, Marler and Zanona with a run each.
Smith, Holly and Luttmer each had runs. Zanona, Anderson and Virtue each had doubles.
For Sisters, Morss, Luz and Fendall each had a hit.
Throwing for the Huskies, Smith gave up five runs, four earned, on three hits and six walks, striking out three batters.
Morss started and went two innings for Sisters, giving up three walks, four hits and three earned runs, striking out three. Stutzman closed out the game, giving up two hits, a walk and three unearned runs.
Sweet Home 032 10x x – 6 6 1
Sisters 301 13x x – 5 3 3