Top-ranked Sisters defeated the Huskies 15-1 and 11-0 in a doubleheader in baseball Friday afternoon.
“I don’t think we played badly,” said Coach John Best. “They were better that day. They could field. They could hit. They could pitch.”
Sisters scratched out a run in each of the first three innings.
“We were kind of in it,” Best said. “It was 3-0 going into the fifth inning. We just didn’t bang out hits back to back.”
Sisters pitcher Zach Morgan threw really hard, Best said. Sweet Home got the ball into play, but the hits were soft.
“They started stringing hits together in the fifth inning,” Best said. They hit like crazy. Their starting pitcher was super good on the bump.”
Morgan went 4-4 from the plate, and he pitched a complete game.
Sisters pulled away in the fifth, scoring four runs. With another run in the sixth, the Outlaws were ahead 8-0. After a seven-run seventh inning, the Huskies scored their run.
“I thought our pitching was OK,” Best said. “I thought Devin (Stafford) started out strong.”
Nate Virtue relieved him in the sixth inning, and Fisher Anderson pitched the seventh inning.
The Outlaws were good offensively, putting the ball in play with strings of singles and doubles, Best said.
The Huskies collected four hits on the game, led by Daniel Virtue who hit a double.
At the end of the week, the Huskies were 4-3 in league, third in league and 9-4 overall. They were ranked 10th in statewide OSAA rankings. Cottage Grove, 6-2, was second in league and ranked eighth in the state. Sisters was 7-1, first in league and ranked first.
Junction City was 4-4 and fourth place. Elmira was 1-6 and fifth in league, and Sutherlin was in sixth place with a 1-7 record.
Sisters 111 041 7 – 15 18 2
Sweet Home 000 000 1 – 1 4 2
Sisters 11, Sweet Home 0
The Outlaws and the Huskies threatened each other for three innings. The Huskies loaded bases twice, but neither side could get a runner across the home plate until the fourth inning.
Sisters reached base when a pitch hit the batter. Morgan knocked a home run out of the park to score two runs and get things going.
T.J. Lawrence singled to knock in two more runners.
The Outlaws scored three more runs in the fifth inning and four more in the sixth, while the Huskies were unable to bring home a run, ending the game in the sixth inning under the 10-run rule.
“We had some outstanding defensive plays,” Best said. Nate Virtue casually caught a line drive up the third baseline and later turned a double play from third base. Colton Smith and Nick Marler both made diving catches.
Daniel Virtue was starting Huskies pitcher.
“He did good,” Best said. “He threw five innings and started off strong. They started putting them into play a little bit, and then we gave up that home run.”
Keegan Holly relieved him in the sixth inning.
Ryan Cook started for Siters, and Jett Mingus relieved him in the third inning.
At bat, Holly singled on a great bunt, Best said, and Daniel Virtue had a big hit.
For Sisters, Cook hit a couple of doubles.
“I thought our guys played well,” Best said. “I told them their defense was fine. That second game defense was really good.”
The ground that game to the last out and never gave it up, Best said. The score doesn’t reflect how well they played.
The Huskies were scheduled to travel to Junction City Tuesday. They will travel to Sutherlin Friday and Elmira next Tuesday.
Sisters 000 434 – 11 12 0
Sweet Home 000 000 – 0 7 2
Sweet Home 11, Elmira 6
Elmira scored a run at the top of the first inning, but the Huskies quickly scored two runs and took that lead away.
“Pretty much the rest of it, our defense took care of them,” said Coach John Best. The Huskies added another five runs in the second inning.
“In that second inning, it started off with a hit batter,” Best said. “Nate Virtue got a single, and we just went on a hitting spree.”
Elmira scored two runs in the third inning. The Huskies capitalized on an error and scored another three in the third, with a big double coming from Smith.
Elmira scored three more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, while the Huskies scored their last in the sixth.
With every player in the lineup collecting a hit, the Huskies recorded a total of 13.
Keanu Aiona hit a home run. Holly went 3-4, Smith and Elder each went 2-4, Smith with a double. Also hitting were Nate Virtue, Marler, Kobe Olson, Daniel Virtue and Austin James.
Elmira 102 001 2 – 6 9 1
Sweet Home 253 001 x – 11 13 1