After starting the season 2-7, Hood River Valley High School baseball has quietly moved back up into the mix of things.
The Eagles headed into last weekend 8-8 on the season and 2-1 in Columbia River Conference play.
On Saturday, April 21 HRV welcomed Pendleton to town for a double header.
For the Eagles, this was not an easy matchup.
Pendleton came into Hood River with a 9-6 overall record, 3-0 in conference and a top-10 ranking in the state.
In the first game of the double header, HRV forced extra innings after tying the game up 4-4 in the seventh inning, but Pendleton’s four-run 10th inning would be too much for the Eagles to overcome and HRV lost by a final score of 8-5 in extra innings.
Pendleton had got on starting Eagles’ pitcher Greyson Losee early, scoring three runs in first two innings to take a 3-0 lead.
But Losee followed the early struggles with strong innings on the mound in the third, fourth and fifth.
The 3-0 Pendleton lead held until the sixth inning, until the Buckaroos pushed their lead to 4-0.
With two innings left to play, the Eagles were down to their final six outs to cut into this Buckaroos four-run lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, HRV put together a three-run inning behind a two-run RBI from Trenton Hough and a groundout run by Isaac Beaman.
Down 4-1, Hough entered the game from the bullpen and held Pendleton scoreless in the top of the seventh, giving the Eagles one last chance to tie or take the lead with three outs left.
In the bottom of the seventh, JJ Mears hit a double to bring in the run to tie this game at 4-4 and to force extra innings.
HRV and Pendleton went scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings.
In the 10th, Pendleton put up four runs to pull away from HRV; Pendleton 8-4.
HRV brought in one run in the tenth, but four was too much to overcome and the Eagles dropped the first game of the double header by a final score of 8-5.
Losee went five and two-thirds innings versus the Buckaroos, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out six.
Hough and Harrison Howell entered the game in relief for Losee, throwing three innings and one and one-third innings respectively.
HRV’s RBI leader was Hough who had two, Mears and Brandon Rivera each with one.
The Eagles totaled nine hits on the day and were led by multiple hits from Mears, Losee and Hough.
After a tough opening game loss for the Eagles, the boys had to clear their minds and get ready for game two of the double header.
In game two, Connor Coerper took the mound for HRV.
Coerper shutout the Buckaroos and the Eagles came away with a 3-0 victory to split the seasons series between these two schools at 1-1.
Pendleton only put together three hits game two.
Coerper went seven innings, allowing three hits and striking out 12.
This season Coerper leads the Eagles in strikeouts with 64.
HRV’s first run of the game came in the third inning as Mears singled on a ground ball to shortstop that brought in Michael Hasegawa from third to home.
In the next at-bat, Mears would steal second base and while he took second, Brandon Rivera on third would steal home to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
Two scoreless innings followed, but in the bottom of the sixth HRV would rack up their final run of the game off of a Hough single that brought in Caden Leiblein for the score; HRV 3-0.
The 3-0 victory for HRV moves the Eagles to 9-9 on the season and 3-2 in conference.
Mears and Hough led the Eagles offensively as they each came away with one of the two total HRV RBIs.
Leaders in hits versus Pendleton in game two: Leiblein (1); Mears (1); Hasegawa (1); Beaman (1); Coerper (1); Hough (1).
The Eagles traveled to Pendleton for their next matchup on Tuesday, April 24 (results unavailable at press time).
Currently, HRV ranks 11th in the state with seven league games remaining until the OSAA State Playoffs.
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