After beating Junction City 5-4 Friday on the road in the first half of a doubleheader, the Sweet Home High School baseball team and the Tigers took the next game into the dark and had to suspend the game tied in the eighth inning.
On April 3, the Huskies lost 4-3 at Sutherlin to open league play.
Coach John Best said his team was a little flat going into the game against the Bulldogs and starting the first game against Junction.
The Huskies’ energy picked up in the second game against Junction City, he said, but the two teams ran out of the light they needed to finish the contest.
They will finish the game before playing the third game in their series on April 24 in Sweet Home.
The Huskies are 1-1, tied with Junction City in league, and 5-4 overall. Cottage Grove, Sisters and Sutherlin are 2-1 after their first week in league play, while Elmira is 0-3.
The Huskies were scheduled to travel to Cottage Grove on Tuesday and will host their first home league game Friday in a doubleheader against Elmira. Game times are 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The Huskies travel to Sisters on April 20.
The Huskies have to be ready, Best said. “Anybody in this league could win at any given time.”
Sweet Home 5, Junction City 4
“Again we were not quite playing up to what the team is capable of,” Best said, and the Huskies ended up winning a close one against a good opponent. “We were able to hold off Junction City in the last inning.”
Colton Smith pitched well and sparked things for the Huskies with a first-inning home run, Best said. Fisher Anderson picked up the save and did a good job on the mount.
Junction City tied the game in the bottom of the second inning after Hunter Vancurler walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a single by Blake Hayes and reached home on a fielder’s choice.
Sweet Home regained the lead in the top of six when Smith walked and stole second. Austin James reached first after being hit by a pitch. Travis Thorpe singled on a fly ball to left field, scoring Smith followed by James on the throw.
Zach hit a line drive left to score Thorpe and give the Huskies a 4-1 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Vancurler walked, and Hayes was hit by pitch to get on base. Chico Guzman scored them on a single.
In the top of the seventh, James reached base on a fielder’s choice, scoring on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 5-3.
In the seventh inning on two outs, Levi Silbernagle walked, advanced to second on a walk and stole third base, scoring the final run of the game on a walk.
The Huskies had five hits led by Luttmer, who went 2-2 with an RBI. Smith hit a homerun, with two runs and one RBI. Thorpe recorded one hit with a run and two RBIs, and Gavin Nichols had one hit.
Junction City had five hits and were led by Jonathan Prescott, who went 2-4.
Smith pitched 6 2/3 innings for the Huskies, giving up four hits, five walks and four earned runs and striking out two. Fisher Anderson finished the game, giving up two walks and a hit.
Trent Keeler threw 5 2/3 innings for Junction City, giving up hits, three walks and four earned runs and striking out six. Hayes finished the game, giving up a walk and a run.
Sweet Home 100 003 1 – 5 5 0
Junction City 010 002 1 – 4 5 3
Sweet Home 8, Junction City 8
The Huskies came out came out stronger in the second half of a doubleheader, Best said. “We came out with a little bit more energy.”
The Huskies built a big lead, and the Tigers responded, making it a ball game, Best said. “Both teams played really well. I was impressed by Junction City. They played hard. I liked the way we were playing.”
Junction City took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. In the top of the third when Sweet Home scored four runs.
That inning, Anderson singled on a hard ground ball to shortstop. Zach Zanona was hit by a pitch, and Keegan Holly singled to move Anderson home, tying the game 1-1. Nate Virtue hit a ground ball and reached on an error at third base, scoring Zanona, giving Sweet Home a 2-1 lead. Holly scored on a wild pitch, and Smith doubled to score Virtue, building a 4-3 lead.
The Huskies scored another three in the top of four to build an 8-1 lead.
The Tigers erased that lead in the bottom of the fourth when Vancurler singled on a hard ground ball to third. Jaxson Fraser hit a line drive left to reach first, and Hayes doubled to the left on a line drive to score Vancurler and kick off a seven-run fourth inning.
Anderson started the game on the mound. Holly relieved him in the fourth, and Zach Zanona relieved him to get the Huskies out of the inning.
Holly singled to score Anderson, who reached on a walk, in the top of the fifth to tie the game 8-8.
Neither team got much going in the last two innings, with just two Huskies reaching base on walks in the seventh inning.
Junction City didn’t have lights on the infield, Best said, and getting dark, the umpire suspended the game at the top of the eighth inning with Holly at bat.
So far on the game, The Huskies have collected six hits, led by Smith and Holley, each going 2-4. Holly had two RBIs and two runs. Anderson had a hit with two runs, and Luttmer had one hit with a run. Luttmer and Smith each had doubles.
Junction City has collected 10 hits so far and was led by Prescott who went 3-4 with one run.Hayes had two RBIs, a run and a double on one hit and a walk.
Anderson started for the Huskies, going three innings and giving up no walks, seven hits and five runs, four of them earned. Holly pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a walk, three hits and three earned runs. Zanona threw the final 3 1/3 innings, giving up two walks and no hits while striking out one.
For Junction City, Kenan Larson started, giving up four hits, two walks and seven runs, six of them earned in 3 2/3 innings. Vancurler pitched 2 1/3 innings, giving up three walks two hits and an unearned run while striking out two. Trevor Trout three the final inning, giving up two walks.
Sweet Home 004 310 0 – 8 6 2
Junction City 100 700 0 – 8 10 1
Sutherlin 4, Sweet Home 3
“We came out flat and ran into a tam that competed, and we didn’t until the last inning or so,” Best said. “They got us by a run.”
Down three going into the seventh inning, the Huskies had a shot, Best said. “We had runners on but didn’t quite get it done.
“Sutherlin’s definitely better than they were last year,” Best said, and senior Sutherlin pitcher Payton Hope was better than last year.
But the Huskies weren’t themselves that game, Best said.
Virtue reached base on a dropped third strike in the top of the first. Smith walked, and James reached on an error to load bases. Thorpe grounded out to shortstop, scoring Virtue and giving Sweet Home a 1-0 lead.
Sutherlin tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Hope walked and then scored on an error. The Bulldogs put up two more runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth, extending it to 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth.
With one out on the board in the top of seven, Virtue singled on a ground ball to second base. Smith grounded out to third, advancing Virtue to third. James singled on a fly ball to right field, scoring Virtue. James advanced two bases on an error, and Thorpe singled on a ground ball to left field to score James, bringing the Huskies within a run, 4-3, of Sutherlin. Luttmer grounded out to end the game.
The Huskies had five hits and were led by James, who went 2-4 with a run and RBI. Zanona, James, Virtue and Thorpe each had a hit. Virtue had two runs. Thorpe had two RBIs.
Sutherlin had five hits. Hope had two runs, and Steven Hagar collected two RBIs.
Virtue started on the mount, giving up three walks, four hits and three runs, one of them earned, and striking out three. Anderson took over in the sixth inning, giving up a walk, hit and earned run.
For Sutherlin, Hope threw 6 1/3 innings, giving up three walks, five walks and three runs, one of them earned, and striking out six. Cade Mesiner, pitched the final out in relief.
Sweet Home 100 000 2 – 3 5 3
Sutherlin 100 021 x – 4 5 4