THE DALLES — After having four days off from their OSAA Class 5A baseball schedule, The Dalles High Riverhawks were seeking to start their 12-game Tri-Valley Conference schedule with some momentum with what was expected to be a home win over the Madras High White Buffaloes.
The No. 12-ranked Riverhawks (0-1 TVC, 10-6 overall), guided by fifth-year Coach Pat Clark, were simply outplayed in an 11-7 loss to the No. 24-ranked White Buffaloes (1-2 TVC, 5-7 overall) on April 23.
“I think everybody was surprised about the loss,” said Clark. “We just didn’t play very good defense and that was the story of the game. We wanted to rest pitcher Gunnar Bustos, so that we could have him well rested for the Gladstone series this week. Madras kind of made us pay for it though. Our pitchers pitched well enough to win, but we just didn’t make the key plays when we needed to.”
The Dalles pitching trio of freshman starter Thatcher Dray and relievers Chase Peterson and Evan Ortega combined for five strikeouts, two walks, 11 hits and three unearned runs. The Riverhawks were unable to overcome mistakes, which included six errors.
“I’ll give kudos to Madras, because they competed well and we gave them an opportunity to get the win and they took advantage of it,” said Clark. “We just have to learn to figure out how to play together well in all three facets of the game - pitching, offense and defense.”
The Riverhawks had seven hits, and they were led offensively by sophomore Kale Beardmore (2-for-3, RBI), sophomore Gunner Bustos (RBI), junior Cannon Stocks (1-for-2, two RBI) and Peterson (1-for-1, RBI).
The Riverhawks will be seeking to bounce back and get a win in their next road game April 29 at 5 p.m. versus the No. 11-ranked Gladstone High Gladiators (2-1 TVC, 10-6 overall). They’ll follow with their third game in four days with a 5:30 p.m. rematch at home versus Gladstone April 30 at 5:30 p.m.
“There’s not going to be any game that is not going to be a tough fight and our league is really strong this year,” said Clark.
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