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Umpqua Valley Christian’s Gabe Forrester prepares to
fire the ball to first base as Oakland’s Anthony Fisher rounds third base during a Mountain View Conference game on Wednesday. The third-ranked Monarchs won, 9-3, to improve to 4-0 in conference play. Oakland dropped to 3-1 in league.
OAKLAND — Fielding errors cost Oakland High School’s baseball team in a big way on Wednesday, and Umpqua Valley Christian made the Oakers pay in a big way.
The Monarchs combined to score five unearned runs in the third and fourth innings, and Branden Graf allowed just two earned runs in seven innings during UVC’s 9-3 Mountain View Conference victory over the Oakers.
“Coach always says to look for the extra base,” said UVC catcher and leadoff hitter Michael Graham, who finished the game 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Everyone’s been focusing on running hard on the basepaths, because when you run hard, it leads to good things.”
That was definitely the case for UVC (7-3 overall, 4-0 MVC), who took advantage of a pair of Oakland errors to open a 5-0 lead halfway through the third inning. That was too much of a deficit to overcome for the Oakers (7-5, 3-1), who pulled within 8-3 at the end of the sixth but couldn’t come closer.
“They came ready to play and we didn’t,” Oakland coach Jerry Harris said. “It’s as simple as that. We need to come ready every game.”
Branden Graf (2-2) earned the pitching win for UVC, allowing just five hits and four walks. He only struck out three, but he got out of four innings with two runners on base without allowing a run.
“He’s got enough off-speed stuff that it really keeps guys of balance,” UVC coach Dave York said. “The last two games we’ve had where he’s thrown we’ve kicked the ball all over the ball all over the diamond, and we did a little bit of that today. But today, we just got out of jams.”
The Monarchs committed five errors but allowed just one unearned run during Oakland’s three-run sixth inning. Dakota Mathis (2-2) struck out six and walked four, but only four of the nine runs he allowed were earned.
“He pitched a good game and he kept the ball down,” Harris said. “But they swung the bats well. I don’t know how many errors we had, but the best defensive inning we had we bounced it all over the field and got two outs. They could’ve 10-runned us.”
The inning Harris referred to came in the top of the sixth inning with the Monarchs holding a 8-0 lead. Ryan Graf hit a sharp ground ball to Oakland third baseman Kody Bendele, whose throw to first base pulled Blair Robertson off the bag. But Robertson relayed a throw to catcher Sean McHaney to nail Graham at the plate trying to score from third base.
But the play wasn’t over. McHaney fired the ball to shortstop Ethan Sweeden in an attempt to tag Daniel Schultz off of second base. But Sweeden fired back to first base after Graf overran the bag, nailing the baserunner for the unconventional 5-3-2-6-3 double play.
The Monarchs took the lead for good in the third when Mitchell Graham led off with a walk, stole second and scored on Isaac Graham’s RBI single. Isaac Graham then scored from second on a RBI single from Mike Graham, who went to second on an infield error.
Daniel Schultz reached on another infield error that scored Mike Graham and, five batters later, Jacob Zink’s two-run single capped the scoring in the inning for UVC.
The first five batters of the bottom of the sixth inning reached base for Oakland, and Clinton Enos’ sacrifice fly brought Oakland within 8-3.
But Zink caught a fly ball in right field hit by McHaney, then fired to second to catch Jake McLean off base for the third out, ending the threat.
The Monarchs have off until Friday when they play a non-league game at Glide before continuing league play against Mohawk on Monday. Oakland hosts Sutherlin today and Days Creek Friday before resuming conference play against Mapleton on Monday.
UVC 005 201 1 — 9 8 5
Oakland 000 003 0 — 3 5 6
B. Graf and M. Graham; Mathis and McHaney. WP — B. Graf (2-2). LP — Mathis. 2B — R. Graf (UVC).
<h2>NON-LEAGUE</h2>
<b>Glendale 11
Sutherlin 6</b>
SUTHERLIN — Despite hitting three home runs and jumping ahead early on, Sutherlin gave up six runs in the ninth inning as it lost to Glendale in a non-league game.
Donald Coon hit a three-run double after the Bulldogs botched a throw to first base on a ground ball. Josh Knous went 4-for-5 with a double and scored three runs for the Pirates.
For Sutherlin, Steven Hutchings and Jake Gilman hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning. Hutchings added another homer in the third inning. Mike Goulart went 2-for-4 from the plate.
“We really had the game with two outs in the seventh inning,” Sutherlin coach Steve Perkins said. “We had a chance and couldn’t make it. We didn’t finish and didn’t get out when we needed them.”
The Bulldogs (1-6) hosted Oakland today. Glendale plays at North Douglas Thursday.
Glendale 110 012 6 — 11 12 2
Sutherlin 042 000 0 — 6 9 1
Coon, Thackery (3) and Henry; Rogers, Terrel-Perez (5), Zenev (6) and Jaramillo. WP — Thackery. LP — Zenev (0-1). HR — Hutchings 2 (S), Gilman (S). 2B — Knous (G), Coon (G), Gilman (S).
<b>South Umpqua 3
Elmira 1</b>
TRI CITY — Behind strong pitching, South Umpqua moved above .500 on the season with a non-league victory over Elmira on Wednesday.
Tyler Hill pitched five strong innings, scattering three hits and striking out four for the Lancers. Eric Whiteley went 2-for-2 with a RBI and Blake Cupp also had two hits, including a double and a RBI.
“Tyler and Bo pitched great on the mound today,” South Umpqua coach John O’Malley said. “It was real nice to see our defense play solid behind those two guys.”
The Lancers continue on Friday when they host Rogue River in a non-league contest.
Elmira 000 100 0 — 1 5 2
S. Umpqua 100 101 x — 3 7 0
Hopkins, Boytz (6), Hammontree (6) and Long; Hill, Younker (6) and Clack. WP — Hill. LP — Hopkins. 2B — Whittaker (E), Cupp (S).
<h2>SOFTBALL</h2>
<b>Glendale 4
Days Creek 0</b>
GLENDALE — After going nine innings on Tuesday, Glendale fought fatigue and defeated Days Creek Wednesday in a conference game.
Pitcher Gretchen Owens held the Wolves to one hit and had 14 strikeouts for the Pirates. Samantha Prock went 2-for-3 with two doubles and Ashley Marriott and Rori Lovemark each hit a double.
“We played a little slow and tired today,” Glendale coach Andy Owens said. “It was so quiet out there I felt like I was in church. Days Creek has a good club, they just aren’t quite there yet.”
The Pirates (10-0, 4-0) head to play North Douglas and Days Creek heads to Oakland, both games on Friday.
Days Creek 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
Glendale 001 012 0 — 4 7 1
Ramos and Butler; Owens and Tate. WP — Owens (8-0). LP — Ramos. 2B — Lovemark (G), Marriott (G), Prock 2 (G).
The Monarchs combined to score five unearned runs in the third and fourth innings, and Branden Graf allowed just two earned runs in seven innings during UVC’s 9-3 Mountain View Conference victory over the Oakers.
“Coach always says to look for the extra base,” said UVC catcher and leadoff hitter Michael Graham, who finished the game 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Everyone’s been focusing on running hard on the basepaths, because when you run hard, it leads to good things.”
That was definitely the case for UVC (7-3 overall, 4-0 MVC), who took advantage of a pair of Oakland errors to open a 5-0 lead halfway through the third inning. That was too much of a deficit to overcome for the Oakers (7-5, 3-1), who pulled within 8-3 at the end of the sixth but couldn’t come closer.
“They came ready to play and we didn’t,” Oakland coach Jerry Harris said. “It’s as simple as that. We need to come ready every game.”
Branden Graf (2-2) earned the pitching win for UVC, allowing just five hits and four walks. He only struck out three, but he got out of four innings with two runners on base without allowing a run.
“He’s got enough off-speed stuff that it really keeps guys of balance,” UVC coach Dave York said. “The last two games we’ve had where he’s thrown we’ve kicked the ball all over the ball all over the diamond, and we did a little bit of that today. But today, we just got out of jams.”
The Monarchs committed five errors but allowed just one unearned run during Oakland’s three-run sixth inning. Dakota Mathis (2-2) struck out six and walked four, but only four of the nine runs he allowed were earned.
“He pitched a good game and he kept the ball down,” Harris said. “But they swung the bats well. I don’t know how many errors we had, but the best defensive inning we had we bounced it all over the field and got two outs. They could’ve 10-runned us.”
The inning Harris referred to came in the top of the sixth inning with the Monarchs holding a 8-0 lead. Ryan Graf hit a sharp ground ball to Oakland third baseman Kody Bendele, whose throw to first base pulled Blair Robertson off the bag. But Robertson relayed a throw to catcher Sean McHaney to nail Graham at the plate trying to score from third base.
But the play wasn’t over. McHaney fired the ball to shortstop Ethan Sweeden in an attempt to tag Daniel Schultz off of second base. But Sweeden fired back to first base after Graf overran the bag, nailing the baserunner for the unconventional 5-3-2-6-3 double play.
The Monarchs took the lead for good in the third when Mitchell Graham led off with a walk, stole second and scored on Isaac Graham’s RBI single. Isaac Graham then scored from second on a RBI single from Mike Graham, who went to second on an infield error.
Daniel Schultz reached on another infield error that scored Mike Graham and, five batters later, Jacob Zink’s two-run single capped the scoring in the inning for UVC.
The first five batters of the bottom of the sixth inning reached base for Oakland, and Clinton Enos’ sacrifice fly brought Oakland within 8-3.
But Zink caught a fly ball in right field hit by McHaney, then fired to second to catch Jake McLean off base for the third out, ending the threat.
The Monarchs have off until Friday when they play a non-league game at Glide before continuing league play against Mohawk on Monday. Oakland hosts Sutherlin today and Days Creek Friday before resuming conference play against Mapleton on Monday.
UVC 005 201 1 — 9 8 5
Oakland 000 003 0 — 3 5 6
B. Graf and M. Graham; Mathis and McHaney. WP — B. Graf (2-2). LP — Mathis. 2B — R. Graf (UVC).
<h2>NON-LEAGUE</h2>
<b>Glendale 11
Sutherlin 6</b>
SUTHERLIN — Despite hitting three home runs and jumping ahead early on, Sutherlin gave up six runs in the ninth inning as it lost to Glendale in a non-league game.
Donald Coon hit a three-run double after the Bulldogs botched a throw to first base on a ground ball. Josh Knous went 4-for-5 with a double and scored three runs for the Pirates.
For Sutherlin, Steven Hutchings and Jake Gilman hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning. Hutchings added another homer in the third inning. Mike Goulart went 2-for-4 from the plate.
“We really had the game with two outs in the seventh inning,” Sutherlin coach Steve Perkins said. “We had a chance and couldn’t make it. We didn’t finish and didn’t get out when we needed them.”
The Bulldogs (1-6) hosted Oakland today. Glendale plays at North Douglas Thursday.
Glendale 110 012 6 — 11 12 2
Sutherlin 042 000 0 — 6 9 1
Coon, Thackery (3) and Henry; Rogers, Terrel-Perez (5), Zenev (6) and Jaramillo. WP — Thackery. LP — Zenev (0-1). HR — Hutchings 2 (S), Gilman (S). 2B — Knous (G), Coon (G), Gilman (S).
<b>South Umpqua 3
Elmira 1</b>
TRI CITY — Behind strong pitching, South Umpqua moved above .500 on the season with a non-league victory over Elmira on Wednesday.
Tyler Hill pitched five strong innings, scattering three hits and striking out four for the Lancers. Eric Whiteley went 2-for-2 with a RBI and Blake Cupp also had two hits, including a double and a RBI.
“Tyler and Bo pitched great on the mound today,” South Umpqua coach John O’Malley said. “It was real nice to see our defense play solid behind those two guys.”
The Lancers continue on Friday when they host Rogue River in a non-league contest.
Elmira 000 100 0 — 1 5 2
S. Umpqua 100 101 x — 3 7 0
Hopkins, Boytz (6), Hammontree (6) and Long; Hill, Younker (6) and Clack. WP — Hill. LP — Hopkins. 2B — Whittaker (E), Cupp (S).
<h2>SOFTBALL</h2>
<b>Glendale 4
Days Creek 0</b>
GLENDALE — After going nine innings on Tuesday, Glendale fought fatigue and defeated Days Creek Wednesday in a conference game.
Pitcher Gretchen Owens held the Wolves to one hit and had 14 strikeouts for the Pirates. Samantha Prock went 2-for-3 with two doubles and Ashley Marriott and Rori Lovemark each hit a double.
“We played a little slow and tired today,” Glendale coach Andy Owens said. “It was so quiet out there I felt like I was in church. Days Creek has a good club, they just aren’t quite there yet.”
The Pirates (10-0, 4-0) head to play North Douglas and Days Creek heads to Oakland, both games on Friday.
Days Creek 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
Glendale 001 012 0 — 4 7 1
Ramos and Butler; Owens and Tate. WP — Owens (8-0). LP — Ramos. 2B — Lovemark (G), Marriott (G), Prock 2 (G).
