Sweet Home 4, Elmira 2
The Huskies edged out Elmira 4-2 at home on April 4 in baseball.
“We played really well against Elmira,” said Coach Matt Matuszak. “It was just a huge win for us.”
Elmira is a very good baseball team, he said. Elmira brought a 7-1 record into the game, suffering its only loss at that point at the hands of Sisters. Elmira was second to Sisters in the league last year, and it returned all of its players after making the state quarter-finals with Sisters.
“It was the first game that we played to our capabilities all year, I thought,” Matuszak said.
Elmira and Sweet Home were both threatening to put runs on the scoreboard by the third inning, and Sweet Home finally broke through in the fourth, scoring four runs to get the win.
Elmira had two runners on in the third, and in the bottom, Cory Hanks reached third base, but wasn’t able to get home. In the fourth, with two outs, Elmira got a runner to second on a double and another on first with a walk before the Huskies caught a fly ball to left field.
In the bottom of the fourth, Rice singled and stole second. Kyle Winslow hit a sac bunt to move Rice to third. Hunter Bidwell singled to score Rice and the first run of the game.
Jeremy White singled, moving Bidwell to second. With the ball headed to first, Bidwell grabbed third base. With the ball headed for third, White stole second. Elmira sent the ball after White, and Bidwell stole home for the second run of the game.
Colton Holly singled to bring White home and then stole second. Nate Melcher bumped Holly to third with a single, and Hanks singled to score Holly and build a 4-0 lead.
Hanks was picked off, and Justin Rice was caught out on a fly ball to centerfield to end the inning with bases loaded.
Elmira scored a run in the next inning and then again in the seventh.
Rice pitched a complete game, giving up one walk, striking out three, hitting two batters giving up six hits and two runs.
At bat, White went 1-3 with a run. Bidwell went 1-2 with a run and an RBI. Rice went 1-4 with a run. Melcher went 1-3. Hanks went 1-3 with an RBI. Holly went 1-2 with an RBI and a run.
The Huskies are 2-2 in league and 3-9 overall. They face Junction City at home on Wednesday.
Elmira 000 010 1 – 2 6 2
Sweet Home 000 400 0 – 4 6 3
Cottage Grove 3, Sweet Home 2
The Huskies underestimated their opponent Monday evening and lost 3-2 at Cottage Grove in nine innings Monday evening.
“We played out worst game of the year,” Matuszak said. “We overlooked a team we knew we were better than. Today was just a big letdown.”
The Huskies should have won the game, he said. “We’re just going to have to bounce back. We’re going to learn a lot about what we’re made of depending on how we respond to this, whether we’re able to turn it into a positive and play well.”
The Huskies racked up eight hits in the game, scoring two runs in the first inning, but Cottage Grove scored runs in the third and sixth to tie the game and then scored again in the ninth to win.
Rice pitched the game, giving up two hits and three runs, while striking out eight batters and walking five. He hit one batter.
At bat, White, Bidwell, Drayson Scott, Austin Rice, Hanks and Winslow went 1-4. J. Rice and Melcher went 1-3. White recorded one RBI, while Scott and Winslow scored runs. Winslow and Hanks each hit a double.
Sweet Home 200 000 000 – 2 8 4
Cottage Grove 001 001 001 – 3 2 1
Sisters 10, Sweet Home 0
The Outlaws shut out the Huskies under the 10-run rule at Sisters on Friday.
The Huskies had no hits. Only Holly, hit by a pitch, and A. Rice, on a walk, reached base.
Sisters scored four in the first and second innings and another run each in the fourth and fifth innings.
White pitched two innings, giving up two runs, a hit and three walks, while striking out one. Scott started and pitched two innings, giving up eight runs, four hits and six walks, while striking out three batters.
Sisters was last year’s league champion, Matuszak said. The Outlaws pitchers were throwing in the high 80s, and the Outlaws beat the Huskies in every aspect of the game.
Sweet Home 000 00 – 0 0 4
Sisters 441 1x – 10 5 1