North Valley High School of Grants Pass dominated the Huskies early in the first round of bracket play in state 4A baseball playoffs, winning 15-3.
North Valley has gone on to the semi-finals after defeating Sisters. North Valley was scheduled to face Ontario on Tuesday. The winner will face either Henley or Hidden Valley on June 2.
North Valley lost the championship game last year and returned 11 players, said Huskies Coach Matt Matuszak. “They’re an outstanding team. They’re still alive in the playoffs for a reason.”
It is the best team the Huskies saw all year, he said. North Valley is ranked number one in the coaches poll, and he agrees. North Valley has a chance to take it all.
The Huskies opened the game with a pair of runs. North Valley scored a run in the bottom of the inning and then seven more in the second. The Huskies scored again with one run in the final inning of the game.
“We came out firing strong on all cylinders,” Matuszak said. “We were up two-nothing.”
Hunter Bidwell and Jeremy White opened with doubles to help get the Huskies going, he said. Justin Rice did an outstanding job on the mound, throwing 73 percent strikes during his two innings.
“North Valley is just such a good team, they were just hitting it,” Matuszak said.
Rice started the game on the mound, pitching two innings. He gave up eight runs, two of them earned, and nine hits. He struck out two batters and walked none. Cory Hanks pitched the next two innings, giving up seven runs, four of them earned, and four hits. He struck out three and gave up five walks. Jeremy White pitched the final two innings, giving up three hits and striking out one but walking none.
The Huskies collected five hits, one each from White, Hunter Bidwell, Rice, Nate Melcher and Kyle Winslow. Bidwell, Rice and Winslow each had an RBI. White, Brandon Gregory and Rice each scored a run.
Even though the Huskies were down big, the kids kept playing, Matuszak said. They didn’t get down.
“They were first-class individuals,” he said, at a time when it would be easy to give it up. That’s something they did all season long, and it makes him proud.
“I’m very proud of our kids Matuszak said. “They just did a great job.”
The season started out rough, and it would have been easy to give it up then, he said, but the Huskies kept growing and improving all season long.
“We played our best baseball down the stretch,” Matuszak said, and the Huskies didn’t play badly at North Valley at all at the end of the season.
“I’m very pleased just at the progress this team made,” he said. “I really felt like we took a step forward as program this year.”
The off-season training made a difference for many of the players, Rice, Cory Hanks and Drayson Scott among many others.
The team finished second in a tough league, he said. “I thought our kids just did a great job battling every day.”
Matuszak wanted to thank the public for all of its support, he said. The team had a lot of fans go all the way to Grants Pass for the final game.
Sweet Home 200 000 1 – 3 5 3
North Valley 172 223 x – 15 16 2