The Sweet Home baseball team finished third in the league last week, earning a “play-in” berth, at Taft this Thursday, May 19.
The Huskies defeated Cottage Grove 10-1 on Thursday, May 12, and Junction City 12-7 on Friday, May 13, on the road. Monday the Huskies hosted Cascade, losing 5-3 in a non-league game.
Taft was second in the Oregon West Conference, with a 7-8 league record and 8-12 overall record.
The Huskies finished 8-7 in league and 11-10 overall, behind Sisters, 14-1 in league and 21-3 overall, and Elmira, 11-4 in league and 12-10 overall. Cottage Grove finished fourth, 6-9 in league and 8-14 overall.
Cascade 5, Sweet Home 3
Cascade jumped ahead scoring three runs in the first inning, adding a run each in the third and fifth.
The Huskies got their offense going in the seventh, scoring three runs, but it wasn’t enough to catch Cascade.
David Deggelman led at bat, going 2-4, with two RBIs. Gavin Kauffman and Hunter Bidwell each had one hit, and Kauffman had an RBI.
Colton Holley started the game on the mound, striking out four batters, walking two and giving up four hits. Drayson Scott pitched in relief beginning in the fourth, striking out four, walking one and giving up two hits.
Cascade 301 010 0 – 5 6 2
Sweet Home 000 000 3 – 3 4 2
SH 12, Junction City 7
Junction City built a 3-0 lead in three innings, but the Huskies nearly doubled Junction City’s performance at bat, and started knocking in runs in the third, trailing 4-2.
The Huskies went ahead in the fourth on five runs for a 7-4 lead and never looked back. Junction City put together three runs in the sixth, but the Huskies held the lead and added two more runs.
The Huskies had 15 hits on the game, led by Kauffman, who went 4-4 with three RBIs and a double. Holley went 3-5 with a double. Deggelman and Scott added two hits each with a double. Jeremy White, Bidwell, Justin Rice and Kyle Winslow each had a hit, Winslow with a triple.
Winning pitcher Cory Hanks started the game, striking out four, walking four and giving up eight hits, including a homerun. White pitched the last inning, striking out three batters.
Sweet Home 002 532 0 – 12 15 4
Junction City 211 003 0 – 7 8 1
SH 10, Cottage Grove 1
The Huskies took an early lead and shut down Cottage Grove production for a 10-1 victory.
Sweet Home scored six runs in the first two innings, while Cottage Grove scored one in the first, to lead 6-1.
The Huskies had 12 hits, led by Kaufman, going 2-4 with four RBIs and a homerun, Scott going 2-3 with a double and an RBI and White going 3-4. Holley and Deggelman each hit doubles, and Rice, Nate Melcher and Winslow each added a hit.
Rice started at pitcher and collected the win, striking out seven batters, walking one and giving up two hits. In relief, Kauffman struck out three and gave up two hits in two innings, and Hanks walked one and gave up one hit in one inning.
Sweet Home 240 130 0 – 10 12 1
Cottage Grove 100 000 0 – 1 5 2