The Ridgeview Ravens seemed like an ideal opponent for The Dalles High in the Intermountain Conference District baseball quarterfinals. The Dalles (3-7 IMC, 3-14 overall) beat Ridgeview (2-8 IMC, 3-14) twice in the regular season by the scores of 13-8 and 12-2 and they earned the IMC’s fourth seed and a home game against the fifth-seeded Ravens.
For The Dalles, guided by Coach Steve Sugg, it definitely was a game they should have won, but didn’t, losing 4-2 to end its 2021 season May 17 at Quinton Street Ballpark in The Dalles.
“Prior to the game, I felt like we had a good chance to win because we already beat them twice, so it was very, very unfortunate to lose,” said Sugg. “The kids had lots of confidence, too, and I thought that they would take care of business, but that’s baseball and you never know from day-to-day. We actually outplayed them (Ridgeview), but the passed balls and errors hurt and if we didn’t have those, then we would’ve won 2-1. We gave them too many runs and we didn’t capitalize on our scoring opportunities.”
Ridgeview took the initial lead, going up 1-0 in the first inning before The Dalles came back to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second. Freshman Nathan Hedges (1-for-3) hit a single and then pinch runner Cooper Cummings later scored on an RBI-single by freshman Cooper Klindt (1-for-1).
Ridgeview capitalized on The Dalles mistakes (passed ball, error) in the third to regain the lead, 3-1. Following a scoreless fourth, The Dalles responded by scoring in the fifth. Sophomore starting pitcher Riley Brock (seven strikeouts, three walks, three hits allowed in six innings) singled and later scored on an RBI-single by sophomore Evan Baldy (1-for-4), making it 3-2.
“This is all part of the learning process for the young club that we have,” said Sugg. “They got some good experience and I’m just thankful that we were able to play some games, even though we had to deal with the COVID restrictions I would hate to see where we would be at if we didn’t play this season. It was a good year because none of the games really counted much. We saw what kind of talent we’ve got, and we know what we have to work on to prepare for next season. A lot (10 freshmen) of young kids got to play and they got some valuable experience.”
The Dalles had a golden opportunity to score in the bottom of the sixth and possibly take the lead or at least tie the game. The Riverhawks loaded the bases with two outs when Klindt was hit by a pitch, Nolan Donivan had a fielder’s choice and Braden Schwartz (1-for-3, single) walked, but they were unable to get a clutch hit to drive in any runs.
The Dalles was unable to score any more runs and Ridgeview added a run in the seventh for the final 4-2 margin. The Riverhawks outhit the Ravens, 7-5, but The Dalles had five errors and left nine baserunners stranded.
“We’re looking forward to summer league baseball now,” said Sugg, who will guide the Columbia Gorge Hustlers squad which begins a 42-game season June 12 against Bend. “We’ll add a few more pretty good athletes to the group we already have and that will make us a more competitive team. We have a lot of work to do to get better and be more competitive. They’ll play a lot of baseball and that’s what they need to do to get better.”
The Hustlers begin practice June 7 and the team will include players from Dufur, Sherman County, Goldendale and The Dalles. Other assistant coaches who will help guide the Hustlers include Ed Ortega, Dean Dollarhide and Jeff Justesen.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.