DUFUR – The battery of Hagen Pence and Bailey Keever were in perfect symmetry Sunday.
Pence, a sophomore, in his first start of the 2016 season allowed one hit and struck out eight, as the Dufur Rangers used Pence’s pitching and a two-run single by Kolbe Bales to lock down a 2-0 triumph over Kennedy in a non-league baseball game played at Dufur City Park.
“I just felt relaxed and in control,” Pence said. “My slider was working so much better and has been at the start of the season. I am hitting my spots with my fastball and also my slider, so I think that helped me get ahead early in the count and kept them off-balanced.”
Both teams fought to a scoreless tie through the first four and a half innings with neither team advancing a runner past second base.
Finally, the Rangers were able to string together a rally in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Louis Red Cloud led off with a full-count walk, and moved to second base after a groundout to first by Hayden Clapham.
Leadoff hitter, Connor Uhalde, then added a single to centerfield to move runners to the corners with one out.
With Bailey Keever at the plate, Uhalde swiped second base to put two in scoring position for Keever.
Keever eventually worked a walk to load the bases.
Up next was junior first baseman Kole Bales with a chance to move his team ahead.
On a 1-1 pitch, Bales hammered a fastball through the hole into right field to score both Red Cloud and Uhalde to give Dufur a 2-0 lead.
Dufur still had two runners on and one out, but could not scratch across any more runs.
Pence shut down Kennedy in order in the sixth and then needed only six pitches in the seventh inning to record three outs and give the Rangers a huge win before spring break.
The sophomore right-hander allowed one hit, a bloop single to center to start the fourth inning, and he struck out eight, walked three and hit three batters.
Pence started seven runners, three in scoring position, did not allow a runner past second base.
More importantly, the Dufur defense committed just one error and turned a double play.
“In the past, I have always had a hard time trusting my team, but this year, I feel really good about everyone behind me,” Pence said. “They all know what to do, they do their job, they do it right and make all of the plays. It makes it so much easier to throw when you know your guys are going to have your back.”
In all, the Rangers had five hits, two walks and had two hit batters.
Uhalde went 2 for 3 with a stolen base and a run scored, Bales added two hits and two RBIs, and Pence went 1 for 2 with a double and was hit by a pitch.
With a roster of six freshmen and a sprinkling of veteran upperclassmen, Dufur coach C.S. Little is still trying to find the right pieces in place for the team to enjoy success this season. He has been impressed by what he has seen thus far in four contests.
“We were able to beat a quality team,” Little said. “I think it shows that even as young kids, we made plays today, got a stellar pitching performance out of Hagen Pence and put the ball in play. There are some promising things that I am seeing here and we will now rest up over the spring break and practice up and get ready for our next couple of games.”
Dufur (2-2 overall) heads to Lyle for a non-league doubleheader at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 31.
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