Sweet Home’s Senior American baseball team’s season ended at the state tournament last week.
The team, sponsored by Melcher Logging, won the league championship earlier in July with an 11-1 record.
“Our kids have finished second every single year,” said Josh Blachly, who has coached most of the players since they were in coach-pitch baseball. “This year they had a goal that they were going to win league and go to the state tournament. They did it.”
Sweet Home finished third in the district tournament in Keiser, which qualified them for the 12-team state tournament in Hillsborough.
In the first round, they beat Tualatin 7-6 on Monday night, which earned them a match-up with the No. 1 seed and last year’s state runner-up, Gresham. Sweet Home lost that one, 10-4.
“We struggled a bit with our bats that day,” Blachly said.
In an elimination game against No. 2 seed Sherwood, things fell apart for Sweet Home.
“Nothing went right from the start,” Blachly said of the 16-6 loss, in which Sweet Home was ahead in the second inning.
He noted that the players and their families had to drive to Hillsborough for each of the three games, a much farther distance than the other teams in the tournament, which, he said, probably took its toll.
“It was rough.”
The good news, he said, was the attitude the players, coaches and fans displayed, which was noticed by tournament officials. The day before the championship game, Blachly received a call that his team was being awarded the State Sportsmanship Award – which meant another trip to Hillsborough.
“We had to go out in front of a big crowd and get the trophy,” he said. “It says a lot. We’re not just making good baseball players, we’re making good people. That trophy isn’t just for players, it’s also for fans and coaches. Anybody can be a bad sport.”