13U Stars using regional finish as motivation

Two of the losses were by a combined 2.5 runs, and TD beat Twin Falls and had an 11-0 loss to eventual regional champions, Camas, Washington.

It was a mixed bag of feelings for TD assistant coach Dan Nelson.

“The teams were not that tough. We were as good as any of them, and they were all as good as each other. It was well-matched,” Nelson said of the tourney field. “Much of this is on ourselves. We are as good as any team that showed up, but not on these days. That’s baseball. It was a first for all of us, and we will certainly be ready to go further next year. I promise that every kid, and every coach, and every parent has already thought of something we can improve on.”

After an 11-0 loss to open up tournament play, TD got things going against Twin Falls in the next round of pool play.

Using an aggressive approach on the base paths, Ben Nelson scored three runs and Caden Mathisen added two runs to lead The Dalles to an 8-6 win.

Juan Luis Jimenez scored a run, and Dominic Smith added a run on a sacrifice bunt by Zach Anderson.

“It came down to some tiny things to win it,” Coach Nelson said. “Zach Anderson came to me suggesting a sacrifice bunt. That’s how he was all year. A big hitter, but he’d do whatever it took, and would happily sacrifice himself to help a teammate.”

Up next was the South Coast Oregon champions, and The Dalles stumbled out of the gates early falling behind by a 12-0 score in the fifth inning in a 13-10 loss.

Needing to add at least three runs to avoid a mercy rule, The Dalles rallied for 10 runs to inch to within a 12-10 deficit.

Nelson, Mathisen, Jimenez, Smith, Conner and Colton Baughn, Sam Thalhofer and Josh Johnson each scored a run, and Anderson scored twice.

Down by two runs later in the fifth inning, Aiden Hicks was issued a walk, but TD wasn’t able to add to the run total.

Behind by three runs in the seventh inning, The Dalles had additional chances to catch South Coast, but left runners stranded.

Just as the previous game flowed, The Dalles had opportunities to score runs against North Washington, but fell behind early and could not sustain a comeback bid in a season-ending 12-10 loss.

In that game, Thalhofer scored three runs, and both Mathisen and Johnson added two runs apiece.

Anderson, Nelson, Hicks, and Jimenez all had solid offensive contributions with Hicks and Anderson each batting perfect for the game.

Coach Nelson said the defense played well at times with a few errors hurting the team at crucial moments of the game.

The pitching staff also did their best to keep the opposition close, by limiting walks and deep counts.

“Our pitchers did outstanding at that,” Coach Nelson said. “We have some great pitchers that never even threw in the games. But next year, they should tighten up their control a bit, and I assume they will feature heavily.”

In regional play, Smith led The Dalles with a .636 batting average, Anderson led the team with a .700 on-base percentage and Mathisen scored a team-high five times.

Jimenez had a .538 batting average with three runs scored, Johnson scored three runs, Colton Baughn added a .500 average and Ben Nelson hit .500, had a .571 on-base percentage and scored five runs.

Thalhofer hit .444 with four runs and Dalles Seufalemua finished with a .429 average and a .667 on-base percentage.

This TD team surpassed many expectations and came close to extending its season to a World Series berth.

The state champions have two more seasons together to try and make that jump into the upper echelon.

Coach Nelson feels that time should come sooner rather than later.

“We have a lot more baseball ahead of us, and wonderful kids,” the coach said of TD’s future prospects. “We will be the team to watch the next couple years — mark my words.”