By Keeghan Gittins
For The New Era
Sweet Home was supposed to play four baseball games over two weeks but due to weather delays the Huskies only ended up playing two.
But both were nail-biters, going into extra innings before they emerged victorious.
At home, Sweet Home was able to beat No. 18 North Bend in a nine-inning thriller before beating Santiam Christian on the road, 5-2. The pair of wins helped rise to Huskies No. 14 in the rankings, up from No. 22
The game with North Bend was a slugfest, the teams combining for 28 hits, 14 apiece, in a see-saw contest that saw five lead changes.
Sweet Home committed three errors while North Bend played error-free, but the Huskies overcame those mistakes with timely hitting and depth on the mound.
Three Huskies recorded doubles, with Kyle Zajic, Mason Rosa and Luke Rosa each collecting two-baggers. Luke Rosa led the offense, going 4-for-5 at the plate, while Mason Rosa and Eddie Taylor each scored three runs.
Zajic showed his dual threat ability, starting on the mound and throwing 77 total pitches over two innings, 55 of them strikes. He faced 19 batters, striking out five.
In Zajic’s first at-bat of the game he hit a fly ball that cleared the left field, resulting in the first score of the game and his first home run of the season.
“Kyle came up huge for us against North Bend,” Coach Evan Teter said. “It’s always a good thing when you can start off with a home run in our first at bat of the game. That confidence was crucial late in the game. He’s continued to be lights out on the mound and has shown that he can be trusted to be on the bump in big games.”
Tatum Hoffman and Rosa each added an inning in relief, with Hoffman recording two strikeouts, before Taylor closed out the final two innings.
Rosa had a successful day at the plate, delivering two singles in his first two at-bats, then a sacrifice fly.
Rosa found another gear when the game went to extra innings, hitting a double in the eighth inning.
With two outs, bottom of the ninth, the game tied at 9, and his brother Mason on third. Rosa sent a fly ball to right field that hit the fence, allowing his freshman brother to come home to seal the win. Huskies 10, Bulldogs 9.
“Luke has grown so much since last year,” Teter said. “He’s really simplified his approach at the plate that has allowed him to have a clear mind and be ready for anything he encounters. Whenever we can have him at the plate in those big situations I think it makes everyone believe that we can get out of it on the right side.”
Sweet Home followed that performance with another gritty extra-inning win against Santiam Christian.
The Huskies took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning before Santiam Christian answered with runs in the third and fifth to even the score. But Sweet Home again found a way late, pulling away for a 5-2 victory.
Rosa got the start and gave the Huskies four innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out three. Freshman Colton Lindsey then took the mound, allowing just one hit and one score.
Lindsey then pitched a shutout over the final three innings, throwing a total of 51 pitches, 40 of them strikes.
“This is definitely the deepest we’ve been on the mound, and we’ve got a lot of young guys contributing early,” Teter said. “It’s been so encouraging as coaches to look at not just our success right now, but what it means for us moving forward. These guys are only going to improve, and with them being able to be competitive right now, the sky is the limit for them.”
The Huskies also showed a trait that has become a defining part of their season: responding under pressure.
“Our guys have done a great job of fighting late in games and responding to adversity,” Teter said. “That’s something we’ve struggled with over the past couple years, the second another team would throw a punch we would start to step off the gas. This year, it almost seems like it makes us press on the pedal even harder.”
Sweet Home had two games canceled due to weather between the two wins, but the momentum has only grown.
At 5-5, the Huskies enter league play with renewed confidence and a significantly improved ranking.
Teter pointed to the team’s energy and belief as the biggest reasons for that climb.
“We’ve had some good energy during practices, and that has carried over into games,” he said. “Seeing that they can win in tight games helps them realize that regardless of where the game is at and what the score is, they have a chance at winning.”
The 2-0 streak is going to be tested against Philomath; last year Sweet Home lost all three games to the Warriors by a combined score of 56-5.
“Philomath was a very solid team last year with great pitching and are very well coached,” Teter said. “We carried some negative energy into the series last year which didn’t help us at all. Our team this year is much more experienced, and we are performing better in almost every facet of the game than we were last year. It should be a competitive series.”
After proving they can win close games against ranked opponents, the Huskies now turn their attention to OWC play, hoping their extra-inning toughness translates into a playoff push.
Sweet Home travels to Philomath, Monday April 20, then returns home Wednesday, April 22, before going back to Philomath Friday, April 24.
— Keeghan Gittins
Sweet Home Softball
Sweet Home’s softball team closed out a challenging weekend against three ranked opponents by showing both resilience and growth, finishing with a dramatic 13-11 comeback win over No. 18 Gladstone after losses to No. 7 Pendleton and No. 3 The Dalles.
Despite the 1-2 weekend, the Huskies enter league play 6-5 and sit atop the league standings entering Oregon West Conference play, having scored a league-high 89 runs.
Sweet Home opened the stretch with a first-round matchup against Pendleton, falling 10-0 to a Buckaroos team that eventually finished second in the tournament. While the final score was lopsided, the Huskies stayed competitive through much of the game.
Four complete innings were scoreless before Pendleton broke through for four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Defensive miscues proved costly, as Sweet Home committed six errors, with four Buckaroo runs coming as a result.
Katriona Harris was solid in the circle despite the loss, allowing just four hits, while issuing four walks.
“I think at the end of the day Pendleton just out hit us,” Coach Emily Marchbanks said. “Towards the end of the game they started to get on to Peanut and we didn’t have that same streak. We also had some costly defensive errors, and to compete with high level teams, errors need to be kept to a minimum.”
Though the score mirrored last season’s 10-0 loss to Pendleton, Marchbanks saw major differences in this year’s team.
“The girls went into the game fired up and ready to compete,” Marchbanks said. “Our girls have been working really hard and are better in most ways than they were when we played them last year.”
The Huskies followed with a 7-3 loss to The Dalles in a game that was closer than the scoreboard suggested. Sweet Home held the Riverhawks’ powerful offense scoreless through the first four innings and matched them offensively with nine hits. But six more defensive errors again proved costly.
Sweet Home responded in a big way against Gladstone.
Trailing 10-5 entering the fifth inning and having gone scoreless over the previous three innings, the Huskies mounted one of their most impressive rallies of the season. Sweet Home scored once in the fifth, added three in the sixth and erupted for four more in the seventh to complete the 13-11 comeback.
Natalie Smith led the offense with three hits, while Miley Smith, Taylee Rosa and Aaliyah Brown each scored three runs. The Huskies pounded out 15 hits and struck out just twice, their lowest strikeout total of the season.
Addy Vannice and Miley Smith each added two stolen bases.
After Katriona Harris pitched the first three innings, allowing 10 runs on six hits, Marchbanks turned to Brown in relief. Brown delivered a major shift in momentum, allowing just one run and one hit over four innings to help fuel the comeback.
The defensive turnaround was also notable. After committing six errors in back-to-back games, the Huskies made just two against Gladstone.
“I think the girls just went into the Gladstone game more confident and they were very determined throughout the game to keep persevering,” Marchbanks said.
That perseverance showed most when Sweet Home faced a five-run deficit late.
Marchbanks said she emphasized unity when her team was down 10-5.
“Just to continue to be good teammates and support each other on the field and in the dugout,” Marchbanks said. “The girls did a great job of finishing the game strong as a team and continuing to persevere.”
The Huskies started league play this week, with a home game against Philomath Monday, April 20, a road game on Wednesday at Cascade and a home game Friday against Newport.
– Keeghan Gittins
East Linn Christian undefeated in District 2
The Eagles continued their winning ways in a doubleheader Friday, April 17, at Santiam, coming away with 26-14 and 18-3 wins.
East Linn actually trailed 10-9 after the second inning before erupting offensively with four runs in the third, five in the fourth and eight in the fifth inning to finish with the 26-14 mercy-rule win.
Josi Davidson brought a big bat, hitting a home run and two triples in a 4-4 performance at the plate, and Abby Mitchell went 4-4 with two doubles to lead the Eagles, who finished with 16 hits and 14 RBIs, Davidson contributing five of those.
Macy Rehnberg and Liv Kropf split time in the circle for the win.
In the second game, East Linn opened with nine runs in the first inning and never looked back, scoring three more in the third, five in the fourth and finishing off the mercy-rule win with one in fifth.
Ally Hatch led the team at the plate, going 4-5 , with Eva Pimm finishing 3-3 and Davidson and Meeya Rehnberg both going 2-3.
Kropf pitched the entire game, giving up five hits and three earned runs to the Wolverines, all the runs coming in the bottom of the second.
Coming into a home game against Central Linn Tuesday, April 21, the sixth-ranked Eagles are 10-1 overall, 8-0 in league, their sole loss to 3A-Division Salem Academy on March 18. Since then, they have won nine straight, eight of their 10 wins coming in mercy-rule games. They are scheduled to play on the road in a double-header Friday at Central Linn, 3-9 coming into this week.
Eagles fall to Santiam in baseball
East Linn Christian’s baseball team had a rough day Friday, April 17, losing both ends of a double-header at Santiam 11-1 and 10-1.
In the first game, the hosts had all 11 of their runs on the scoreboard by the bottom of the second after Chase Fenerty scored for the Eagles in the top of the first.
East Linn had one hit, from Fenerty, who went 1-1 at the plate, walking in his other at-bat. The Wolverines took advantage of starter Casey May, who gave up the hosts’ runs in 1.2 innings of work before being relieved by Asher Taylor, who finished out the last two innings.
In the nightcap, the Eagles again got on the board in the first inning, as Jesse Younger hit a grounder to score Blake Burns, but Santiam came back to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame, then got its bats booming for six runs in the bottom of the second. The hosts scored a run each in the fifth and sixth innings to ice the win.
The Eagles were more successful at the plate this time around, finishing with a hit each from Marshall Darwood, Isaac Taylor and Isaiah Blount.
Taylor, Fenerty and Owen King shared duties on the mound, giving up a total of six hits and nine earned runs.
This week East Linn will match up with Central Linn at home Tuesday, and in a road double-header on Friday. The Cobras enter this week winless in Special District 2. The Eagles are 3-5, in fifth place as of Monday.