Dufur steals its way to finish among 2A/1A elite baseball teams

Run-happy Dufur swiped 116 bases in 116 attempts, using the lost art of baserunning as a major weapon en route to its 14-3 overall record. Ben Schanno led the way with 24 steals, Gabe Petroff had 20 and Jacob Peters 19. In all, 11 different players stole bases, and none got caught.

The Rangers parlayed that offensive weapon into a deep run in the week-long culminating postseason, where they split four games. Dufur defeated Portland Christian before losing two straight games, including a 12-6 defeat vs. Monroe on May 22. The Rangers ran out of gas in the latter game, after a week of shuffling back and forth between the baseball diamond and the basketball hardwood. Dufur outhit Monroe, 8-6, but committed seven errors in the game played at Philomath High School. Schanno, Joey Holloway, Petroff and Isaac Anthony each had two hits for the Rangers.

Dufur started the week with a five-inning, 16-0 win over Portland Christian. Schanno and Anthony each had two doubles in the game. Brock LeFaver homered and knocked in three runs.

Arguably the best game of culminating week was Dufur’s 2-1, heartbreaking loss to Kennedy of Mt. Angel on May 20. Anthony threw a two-hit, two-walk, 11-strikeout gem, but the Rangers managed just five hits themselves. The host team won the game with both its runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. LeFaver and Schanno had two hits apiece.