At first, it looked like the Hood River Valley Eagles might suffer yet another defeat at the hands of a league opponent, and might find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
More than halfway through the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader in Hood River against the Hermiston Bulldogs, the Eagles saw themselves in a spot they’ve been in probably more times than they would like this season: staring at a multi-run deficit, with precious few innings left to make it up.
However, like other games this season, the Eagles mounted a comeback that paid off.
After going down 7-2 in the first five innings, HRV (9-10 overall, 2-3 Columbia River Conference), fought back against the Hermiston Bulldogs (6-12 overall, 0-5 CRC), pouring out eight runs over two innings and ultimately winning the game, 10-8. In the second contest, HRV won again, 9-6.
Eagle coach Eric Keller said HRV “struggled defensively early in the first, and that led to a struggle to string together hits,” after Hermiston was able to put up five runs in the first inning, and HRV was only able to respond with two. Hermiston widened the gap with two runs in the third to make it 7-2.
The game turned around for HRV in the bottom of the fifth, when catcher Zoe Munn — a freshman who has helped the Eagles out of a jam more than once this season — rifled off a single to right field, then stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then stole home to narrow the score to 7-3. JoJo Karr, who walked earlier in the inning, scored on a center field double from Kelsey Wells, making it 7-4. Wells was sent home with the aid of a hard ground ball slammed to left field by Jessica Karr, and Karr in turn went home (after advancing to second on a wild pitch) off a double from Breanna Weekly — another hard ground ball to left — to tighten the game up to 7-6.
The Bulldogs had a one-run rebuttal in the top of the sixth to push their lead out to two, but that soon evaporated after HRV once again went on a four-run tear and took the lead for the first time of the game. With bases loaded, Wells sent a fly ball to left field, allowing DeHart and Munn to score. A fly ball hit by Weekly to right field was caught by a Hermiston outfielder, but allowed both JoJo Karr and Wells to score after tagging up to go up 10-6.
“We attacked them with great base running to look for every advantage,” Keller said of his team’s ability to come back in the game.
Pitcher Kaylin Winans iced the Hermiston batters in the third, striking out one (and nearly a second) batter, and allowing no hits in a quick final inning. Winans pitched all seven innings, striking out five batters, walking three, and giving up 10 hits. HRV batters had a total of 14 hits in the game.
The rally seemed to take the wind out of the Bulldogs’ sails in the second game, who trailed behind HRV throughout all seven innings.
Just as Hermiston did in the first game, HRV jumped out to a five-run lead in the first inning. Once again, Munn provided a spark for HRV, hitting a home run on the second pitch faced by the Eagles, sending one deep to left field. Wells followed up with a triple off a fly ball to center field, and then was able to advance home on a passed ball to make it 2-0, HRV. Weekly and Jenni Packer, who had gotten on base with a single and a double, respectively, were sent home off a two-run double by Makena Zeller, who then scored herself thanks to a ground ball hit to right field by Winans.
Hermiston added a run in the top of the second, but then was quiet for the next three innings as HRV added a run in the second, third, and fourth innings to extend their lead, 9-1. Wells scored on a passed ball in the second after getting on base with the help of a Hermiston error, Zeller added a run in the third off a single from Munn, and Jessica Karr scored in the fourth thanks a single by Packer.
The Bulldogs added a run in the sixth, and then gave the Eagles a scare in the seventh inning by adding four runs, but still ended up losing by three. Pitcher Hannah McNerney was credited with the win, striking out four batters, walking two, and allowing 11 hits over seven innings. HRV batters also had 11 hits.
Wells and Munn led HRV in the first game with three hits in four at bats and Wells also had a team-high three RBI, tied with Weekly. Munn and JoJo Karr were the lead scorers for HRV with three runs apiece.
Zeller led the Eagles’ offense in the second game with a perfect for three-for-three at bats, with two singles and a double. Zeller also had a team-high three RBI, and led HRV’s scoring efforts with two runs, tied with Weekly and Wells.
The wins helped the Eagles put some distance between themselves and the Bulldogs, who were only one spot behind HRV in the 5A rankings going into Saturday’s games. As of Monday afternoon, HRV was ranked 20th and Hermiston was ranked 26th. Those victories were especially important in a competitive conference that currently features two teams currently ranked in the top 10: Pendleton (No. 1) and The Dalles/Dufur (No. 9). HRV was scheduled to play the Bulldogs again on Tuesday afternoon in Hermiston, and then travel to The Dalles for a doubleheader on Friday that starts at 5 p.m.
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