Baseball beats Linn-Benton for sixth straight win

Neither Linn-Benton nor a steady rain could slow the MHHC baseball team Tuesday as they posted a 6-0 home win for their sixth straight victory.
At first the fans sitting in the MHCC stadium hardly noticed the light rain, but as the game went on, they were pulling out jackets, umbrellas and looking for shelter from the relentless rainfall.

The Saints were just as relentless, chipping away at Linn Benton’s defenses a run at a time. They scored one run in each of the first four innings plus two in the sixth, leaving Linn-Benton’s spirits soaked by the end of the game.

Strategy and steady hitting were the keys to the Saints’ success Tuesday afternoon — eight Saints players had hits. MHCC had runners on base in every inning and registered a hit in every inning but the seventh.

Leadoff hitter and catcher Dane Lund had three hits, a walk and scored three runs. Designated hitter Nick Paxton had two runs batted in.

The winning pitcher was Zev Egli, who gave up four hits in six innings, striking out seven.

With this win and a doubleheader sweep over Clackamas Saturday, the Saints are now 6-2 in the South Region (16-6 overall), in second place behind Lane (8-2).

In the first game Saturday —a 3-0 win over Clackamas — it was Shea Coates who batted in all three runs, one in the sixth and two in the eighth.
Isaac Henslee was the winning pitcher. He pitched eight innings and allowed three hits, no walks and struck out five. Christian Bannister finished the game by pitching the ninth to pick up the save.

The MHCC offense picked up in the 5-2 second-game victory. The Saints used 10 hits to score two runs in the second, one in the third and two in the fifth. Clackamas scored one in the fourth and one in the sixth.

First baseman Jake Thran was three for four with a run scored. Lund had two runs batted in, while Hunter Weiss, Paxton and Ian Erickson each had two hits.

Winning pitcher was Taylor Williams, who pitched six innings, giving up both runs, allowing five hits, two walks and striking out seven. Bannister pitched the final inning to earn his second save of the day.

The Saints were scheduled to play a doubleheader Thursday against Linn-Benton in Albany but results were not available at press time.

Whatever way the Saints choose to score this Saturday should be fine as long as they do a lot of it.

The Saints are on the road and scheduled to play first-place Lane, who is two games ahead of MHCC, in the Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m.

The Saints return home next week with scheduled doubleheaders Tuesday against Chemeketa and Thursday against Lane. The first game each day begins at 1 p.m.