Riverhawk baseball earns first home field win

The Hawks, guided by Coach Steve Sugg, broke a scoreless tie with a two-out, four-run rally in the fifth inning to take a 4-0 advantage. The Mustangs responded and scored three in the sixth to get within one run for the final margin.

“The kids played really well, and I think everyone was excited about getting our first home win,” said Sugg. “We got a great pitching performance from Henry Begay, and it was definitely his best outing of the year. That was really exciting to see, and it helped give him some confidence. Defensively, we played pretty good, and it was a lot better than our previous game. We didn’t hit the ball as well as I would’ve liked us to, but it was enough to get us the victory, so that was good.”

The Hawks outhit the Mustangs, 7-4, with junior Braden Schwartz (3-for-3, RBI, single, double, triple) leading the offense. Sophomore Nolan Donivan (1-for-3, RBI), juniors Nathan Hedges (1-for-3, RBI) and Riley Brock (1-for-3) and freshman Finley Corbin (1-for-3) also contributed offensively.

Begay (13 strikeouts, two walks, three hits allowed) started on the mound and pitched five and two-third innings. He was followed by junior reliever Brock (three strikeouts, one hit allowed).

“Overall, in all aspects with offense, defense and pitching, it was the best game that we’ve played this year,” said Sugg. “It felt pretty good to get a win. We’re making baby steps. We’re a young team (one senior, three freshmen, six sophomores) and so we’re going through some growing pains right now. Hopefully, we’ll be playing well when league play starts because our goal is to finish in the top three to qualify for the state playoffs.”

On April 2, the Hawks played an interstate contest in a road game in Southwest Washington and they lost, 10-0, at Battle Ground High School.

The Hawks’ next contest is April 12 at 5 p.m. at home versus the No 7-ranked Mountain View High Cougars (9-1) of the Class 6A Mountain Valley Conference. The Hawks begin their 15-game Intermountain Conference schedule April 15 at home against the No. 9-ranked Pendleton High Buckaroos (4-3). The top-three teams in the IMC earn an OSAA Class 5A state playoff berth.