Elmira 9, Sweet Home 3
The Huskies had a rough day on the road offensively and defensively, losing to Elmira 9-3 in the baseball league opener Monday evening.
Elmira scored its first two runs in the second inning. The Huskies scored three in the fourth, and Elmira answered with another run in the bottom of four before putting away the game with a six-run fifth inning.
“We didn’t play well tonight,” said Coach Matt Matuszak. “Defensively, we played really, really badly. I think we made six errors, and they all seemed to be in crucial spots.”
The defense didn’t help out the pitchers, who threw fine, Matuszak said. The Huskies got into situations, and they couldn’t get out.
“Our hitting wasn’t very good today either,” Matuszak said. “Tonight was a frustrating loss. Tonight was a game we really needed to win.”
That means the pressure is on as the Huskies move forward, Matuszak said. The team faces Elmira two more times, and he believes his team can win.
The Huskies will host Sisters on Wednesday, he said. “If we don’t play better on Wednesday, we’ll find ourselves in a pretty big hole.”
On the bright side, Matuszak said, Justin Rice has returned to the mound following an injury, and he threw 80 times.
At bat, Kory Van Deusen went 1-2 with an RBI. Nate Melcher went 1-3 with an RBI.Kevin Seiber went 1-2 with an RBI. Colton Holly went 1-3. Rice went 1-3. Hunter Jutte went 1-3 with a run. Brandon Marquez and J.T. Weld scored one run each.
Elmira collected seven hits.
On the mound, Rice pitched four innings, giving up six hits, four earned runs and four walks. He struck out four. Cole Ashcraft pitched two innings in relief, giving up one hit and two walks. He struck out one batter.
Elmira pitcher M. Engholm pitched six innings, giving up six hits, two runs and a walk, striking out two. D. Curtis pitched an inning in relief, giving up one walk.
The Huskies lost two of three games at the Yaquina Bay Baseball Classic on March 25 and March 26. North Bend defeated the Huskeis 12-8, and Gladstone defeated the Huskies 12-8. The Huskies defeated Douglas 5-1.
The Huskies are 5-5 overall and 0-1 in league.
Sweet Home 000 300 0 – 3 6 6
Elmira 020 160 x – 9 7 3