Baseball extends lead in division with win over Linn-Benton

MHCC’s baseball team has extended its lead in the South Region of the NWAACC as it heads into the late stages of its schedule.

The Saints swept a doubleheader Tuesday at Linn-Benton, winning 7-4 and 9-3 in Albany.

That pushed the Saints (15-5 in the South, 22-10 overall) two games ahead of second-place Lane Community College in the region.

The sweep came after MHCC split two doubleheaders on its home field.

Linn-Benton entered Tuesday’s showdown for first place after splitting its own weekend series with Chemeketa.

In the first game against the Saints, the Roadrunners struck quickly with a four-run first inning, but their offense was shut down from there.

The Saints pulled within 4-2 after the third, then exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth. Two Roadrunner fielding errors allowed five Saints to cross the plate and for Mt. Hood to take a commanding lead.

Sophomore Jon Bjorklund threw eight innings, and after surviving a difficult first, earned the victory. Sophomore Zev Egli came in and shut the door to earn a save, striking out two in the bottom of the ninth.

The second game was no different for the MHCC offense. The Saints took the early lead, scoring seven runs on five hits in the top of the second, taking advantage of an error by Linn-Benton third baseman Jordan Farley.

The Roadrunners scratched out one run each in the third, fifth and seventh innings, but never overcame the early hole MHCC put them in.

Saints sophomore Ryan Degner homered in the top of the fourth, and freshman Cole Hamilton drove in sophomore Ian Erickson with an RBI single in the fifth as the Saints went on to win 9-3. Sophomore Eric Huson threw five innings, struck out five Linn-Benton hitters and earned the win.

On April 25, the Saints split a make-up doubleheader against Chemeketa, winning a 9-4 but losing 4-2.

In game one, the Saints scored four times in the first three innings and never looked back. Eric Huson got the win, allowing only two runs in seven innings, and Shea Coates was 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

But the Saints lost the second game, falling behind when the Storm scored three times in the fourth inning. Brandon Williams took the loss. Hunter Weiss and Ryan Degner each had two hits in the losing effort. The Saints outhit Chemeketa  eight to four but could not push enough runners across the plate.

The Clackamas Cougars were the next opponent on Saturday, when MHCC welcomed them to Oslund Field.

The Cougars proved to be anything but an easy task in the first of the two-game set. Overcoming two fielding errors, Clackamas scored the game’s lone run on an RBI double by freshman Luke Marks, scraping by for a 1-0 win.

Saints freshman pitcher Zane Bambusch started and went all nine innings,  but took the loss as the MHCC bats were unable to get in a groove. It was Clackamas’ first win over the Saints this year.

Game two was important as MHCC didn’t want to lose further ground in the South — and the Saints took care of business. Freshman Clint Burris took the mound and tossed six innings of two-hit ball, paving the way for the offense.

A leadoff double in the bottom of the second by freshman Dakota Farmer, followed by another two-bagger from sophomore Myles Richard, gave MHCC a lead it wouldn’t give up. Richard would soon score on a fielder’s choice produced by Hamilton.

Richard scored again in the sixth inning off a sacrifice fly by sophomore Kendall Main, giving the Saints a 3-0 cushion. That became the final score once sophomore hurler Zev Egli came in and made quick work of the Cougars to earn a save.

The Saints will host Southwestern Oregon in a doubleheader on Saturday with games set for 1 and 4 p.m., with hopes of padding their lead as they enter the stretch run leading to the NWAACC tournament.