The No. 6-ranked The Dalles High Riverhawks extended their baseball win streak to eight in a row after a thrilling, 2-1, home victory over No. 12-ranked Madras High White Buffaloes on May 3.
Unfortunately for the Riverhawks, they had sole possession of second place for only 24 hours. The Dalles lost, 6-3, on the road to Gladstone on May 4. The loss, coupled with a 6-4 Madras win over the Molalla High Indians (0-11 TVC, 5-11 overall) the same day, left the teams tied again for second in the six-team TVC standings.
Gladstone overcame a 2-0 The Dalles lead and scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Gladiators then extended their lead to 6-3 in the fifth inning.
Both teams had five hits and Braden Schwartz (2-for-3, RBI) led the Riverhawk offense. Will Booth (1-for-3), Nolan Donivan (1-for-4) and Cooper Klindt (1-for-3, RBI) also contributed offensively. Pitchers Manatu Crichton-Tunai and brothers Braden and Avery Schwartz combined on the mound for three strikeouts and six walks.
The win over Madras was a pitcher’s duel for a majority of the low-scoring game with The Dalles senior hurler Riley Brock having his best outing this season. Brock tossed a two-hitter and had a season-high 13 strikeouts.
“I started off throwing the ball well earlier in the season and then I kind of slowed down a little bit in my last two starts, but I’m finally back to where I want to be now,” said Brock.
Madras (8-4 TVC, 15-7 overall) and The Dalles (8-4 TVC, 14-7 overall) split their first two games: Madras won, 7-1, April 10; The Dalles won, 10-9, on April 12.
After three scoreless innings, Madras went ahead 1-0 in the fourth and was still on top going into the bottom of the seventh. That was the turning point though for Coach Pat Clark’s Riverhawks, as they came from behind to win.
“We knew coming in that they would be throwing their best pitcher and we’ve seen him before, so we knew it would really be a battle,” said Clark. “We knew that we would have to match them, and Riley matched it and then some. It was vintage Riley pitching his best game of the year and it was the right time for him to do that.”
The Riverhawks loaded the bases with a single by Trey Hodges (2-for-3), a walk for Donivan (3-for-3) and a single by Diego Gonzalez (3-for-4). Braden Schwartz (1-for-4) then connected on a sharply hit grounder up the middle for an RBI single, driving home Hodges and tying it 1-1.
Booth was hit by a pitch to again load the bases. Madras then made a pitching change with Conner Flu going to the mound to relieve Holcomb. Riverhawk junior Klindt (2-for-3) greeted Flu by hitting a grounder to left field scoring Donivan.
“It felt good when I hit the ball and I was watching the ball and then it rolled through a Madras infielder’s legs and after I got to first base I turned around and I saw Ben score,” said Klindt. “It was the biggest clutch hit ever of my The Dalles High baseball career.”
The Dalles outhit Madras, 12-2.
“It really showed tremendous resiliency by these guys to come back like they did,” said Clark.
“It was two good teams and two great pitchers just slugging it out. It was cool seeing Trey Hodges do so well in his first game that he had an opportunity to actually hit for us.”
The Dalles played three games in four days last week, including a 3-2 home win May 1 over the Estacada High Rangers (3-8 TVC, 4-14 overall). The Riverhawks plated a run in the sixth inning to pull out a close win.
The pitching duo of Avery Schwartz and Crichton-Tunai combined for 10 strikeouts and seven hits allowed. The Riverhawks had six hits with Gonzales (2-for-3) leading their offense.
The Riverhawks faced Molalla on Monday at home (result was after the printed edition deadline). The Riverhawks play Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at home against the Crook County High Cowboys (6-6 TVC, 11-9 overall) followed by the regular season finale Thursday at 5 p.m. at Estacada.
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