Oslund Field can’t hold ’em, Saints sweep Penguins at home

With the playoffs slowly creeping up, the Mt. Hood Saints baseball team finds itself in the thick of things.

After splitting a four-game series over the weekend with Clark College, the Saints (11-5 in the South Region) are now tied for first place with both Chemeketa and Lane, with eight games remaining before the NWAC championship tournament.

Last Saturday, Mt. Hood got off to a hot start at home with a 12-2 thrashing of Clark in the first game of a doubleheader. The beautiful early afternoon was highlighted by the Saints’ mercy ruling win over the Penguins, in seven innings. They were led on the bump by sophomore Seth Rayburn, who tossed all seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out six. Third baseman Nolan McCall hit an absolute bomb over the left field ivy, depositing the baseball deep into the trees beyond Oslund Field. The two-run moonshot scored sophomore outfielder Taylor Travess, and gave McCall his second hit and third and fourth runs batted in for the day. Travess finished the contest with three hits, two runs scored and three RBI.

Connor Stevenson toed the rubber to start the second game, and would go on to hurl four innings of one-run ball before Riley Moore came on in relief in the fifth. Clark plated three in those three innings off Moore, but the Saints had already pulled far enough ahead to spot those runs, and went on to win, 6-4, for the home sweep.

Sunday proved a bit more challenging for the Saints, who dropped a heartbreaker in game one, as the Penguins walked off in the bottom of the ninth. McCall had another monster game, tallying his second homer of the weekend and driving in five runs, while sophomore outfielder Isaac Benard recorded five hits and stole a base for good measure. But it wasn’t enough, as Mt. Hood ultimately faced disappointment, losing 11-10. The disheartening finish may have carried over into the second game, as the offense ran dry.

Cameron Jack took the hill in game two, and twirled a gem, giving up a lone run through five innings to keep Mt. Hood in it. The bats couldn’t muster much against Clark’s combo of Zach Torson and Tim Reynolds, though, and the Saints were swept out of Vancouver, losing 6-1.

Saints sophomore designated hitter Bowen Ogata got through the weekend riding a nine-game hitting streak. Commenting on the series, he said, “It was tough to drop those last two games, but I thought we showed a lot of fight in the third game. There is definitely a challenge ahead, but we are excited about where we are at heading into the last two weeks of the regular season.”

As for individual performance, he added, “McCall’s home runs were huge for us – he stepped up big-time and has been swinging a hot bat.”

Mt. Hood has another big, four-game weekend series as the team heads to Salem today, taking on Chemeketa before welcoming the Storm to Gresham on Saturday.

Advocate Staff