Baseball loses doubleheader at home

Last Friday, the Saints baseball team played a doubleheader against Clark College in Vancouver and were able to split the two-game series with a 2-0 victory over the Penguins, following a tough 4-0 loss earlier in the day.

In the win, Mt. Hood was led by sophomore pitcher Jake Dahlberg who shut out Clark. Sophomore Logan Grindy hit a RBI single in the second inning and the Saints would score in the fifth inning again off an error by a Clark outfielder.

Head coach Bryan Donohue had positive things to say in regards to the 2-0 win: “Solid start, good defense, and we got some timely hits to score two runs.

“We got a complete game shut out from Jake Dahlberg. Basically, we didn’t allow them to get anything going,” Donohue said. “They got themselves some opportunities to score runs but he (Dahlberg) shut the door.”

With the win over Clark, Dahlberg sits at a perfect 3-0 this season.

On Monday, Mt. Hood played another doubleheader against Clark, this time in Gresham. The Saints did not fare as well, dropping both games. Mt. Hood lost 4-2 in the first contest, and lost the second game, 3-0.

“The hard part is that we’ve pitched well enough and played good enough defense to win every baseball game. This four game series against Clark was a really big offensive struggle for us,” Donohue said. “We didn’t find a way to put ourselves into position to score runs very often.”

Donohue said he is still confident in his team, however.

“Teams go into slumps here and there. I just think the majority of our guys need to just let it go. I keep telling them go out there and have fun,” he said. “We’re eight games in, with twenty-two games to go. We’ve got to get it rolling.

“Baseball can be a game of streaks; I know that once we turn that corner and get things back on the right track, I know we’ll start playing with more confidence,” he said.

Mt. Hood is currently fifth in the Southern Region of the NWAACC,  with a 3-5 conference record and 6-14 overall mark

Mt. Hood plays a doubleheader today in Coos Bay, against 11-10 Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) with games at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. The Saints play SWOCC again Saturday with games at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Donohue is excited for the trip to Coos Bay.

“It’ll be an overnight trip for us, which is always fun to get out of town for a night and go down there for a four-game set. Right now they’re in first place,” he said.

“If we go down there and take three or four from those guys, or even get all four of them, we’re probably going to be tied for first place. I’m looking forward to seeing how our guys take advantage of the opportunity to go down there and actually do something with those games.”