Sweet Home played for a trip to the state 4A playoffs Tuesday and came away from Central with a 5-0 win and a trip to Seaside for a first-round game this Friday, May 18.
“We thought we played our best game,” said Coach Dan Tow of the Huskies’ effort.
Kyle Pettit threw a two-hit shutout, handcuffing Central batters all afternoon.
Pettit also hit a two-run home run in the third inning, when Sweet Home broke loose with four runs. Adam Matuszak opened the scoring for the Huskies by driving in Chaz Davis and Brad Valloni, who each singled. Valloni got to second on a wild pitch and Matuszak hit a single to bring them both home.
The Huskies were also strong on defense, recording two double plays, one on a rundown on a double steal attempt that stopped a potential Central run at home plate.
Skyler Bascom drove in another run in the sixth inning to ice the game.
Tow said Wednesday he didn’t know much about Seaside, which beat Scappoose 15-4 Monday to finish third in the Cowapa League with a 5-7 record, 10-12 overall. He said he planned to talk with some friends, whose teams have played the Seagulls.
Sweet Home 9, Taft 1
The Huskies baseball team topped Taft 9-1 at Lincoln City on May 7.
“We got very good pitching and defense in this game,” Coach Dan Tow said. “We didn’t hit all that well, but we had some guys battle and make contact at the plate. That allowed us to score some runs.
“Greg Sipe and Skyler Bascom each had hits that drove in runs for us.”
Pitching, winning pitcher Kyle Pettit had 12 strikeouts and only one walk, while the defense committed no errors. Willoughby was losing pitcher. Sawyer pitched in relief for Taft.
At bat, Pettit went 2-3 and scored two runs. Sean Anderson went 1-2. Sipe went 1-3 with two RBIs. Bascom went 1-4 with three RBIs. Robby Wallace and Brad Valloni each had a single.
Sweet Home 202 104 0 – 9 7 0
Taft 000 000 1 – 1 5 0
Newport 17, Sweet Home 1
Newport topped Sweet Home 17-1 in five innings on Friday at Newport.
“Not much to say,” Tow said. “We got whipped. They just hit the ball very well, and they had 10 hits in one inning. We haven’t had much luck with those guys.”
Adam Hummer was losing pitcher. Travis Iverson pitched in relief.
At bat, Chaz Davis went 3-3. Pettit hit a double with an RBI. Hummer had a double.
Sweet Home 001 00 – 1 5 6
Newport 1(14)2 0x – 17 12 0