Saints clinch South, head to NWAC tourney

After clinching the South Region crown for the sixth time since baseball skip Bryan Donohue took over the helm in 2008, the Saints want much more. They’re looking to get over the hump and bring home an NWAC championship for the first time since 2000.

“I wasn’t really too worried about it,” said Donohue of winning the South, after Mt. Hood finished five games ahead of the Lane Community College Titans. “That was the expectation coming into the year. But now the challenge is to win the big one.”

Donohue compared this year’s team a lot to his 2012 squad, which took second place at the NWAC tournament.

“Very similar team and same culture,” said Donohue, whose Saints finished the 2015 regular season 20-4 in the South, and 31-12 overall. “This year’s team has a lot of fun together, like they did in 2012.”

“From top to bottom we’re a little more talented now,” the coach added. “But the 2012 team was a little bit further a head at this time in the year.”

With the NWAC tournament slated for May 21-25 at David Story Field in Longview, Wash., at Lower Columbia College, the final bracket will be announced once all four regions finish up their super-regionals – playoffs for division runners-up – this weekend.

Needing a single win to clinch the South heading into play on May 8, the Saints wasted no time and jumped all over Lane (15-9 in the South, and 26-17 overall) in the opener of a home doubleheader at Oslund Field, played on a beautiful late afternoon.

The Saints rang up 16 hits and won in dominant fashion, 13-3. The game ended after the bottom of the seventh inning due to the ten-run (mercy) rule limit, something the Saints have become accustomed to throughout the season.

Saints Nick Gawley and Isaac Benard each had four hits in the winning affair. Gawley is now ranked third in the NWAC with a .390 batting average. Mt. Hood was able to knock around University of Oregon-bound pitcher Jackson Bertsch (6-3, 2.66 ERA), who only lasted 3.1 innings after giving up five runs and seven hits, in process of picking up the loss.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Saints were up 12-3 and looked for the close-out, said Donohue. With two outs and pinch runner Andrew Haley standing on third, Lois Wolf drilled a single to score the winning run. Saints pitcher Seth Rayburn (5-2, 2.19 ERA) was credited with the victory.

Afterward, the Saints players huddled behind first base on the side of their dugout and had a quick celebration for clinching the South and punching their ticket in the NWAC tournament. They celebrated with some fist bumps, chest bumps and good old-fashioned tush slaps.

“That’s pretty special, to ten-run them in the process of winning the South,” said Donohue.

The Saints then lost 5-1 to the Titans in the nightcap. Nate Hunter (4-2, 2.10 ERA) was responsible for the loss.

Within 24 hours, the Saints and Titans were back at it for the regular season doubleheader finale. The Saints escaped Titan Field in Eugene with back-to-back victories, 6-3 and 7-5.

Joe Balfour (8-1, 1.23 ERA) continued his dominance on the mound in Game 1. He pitched seven innings, striking out five and only gave up one earned run. In the second game, the Saints were tied 5-5 in the top of the seventh inning when they loaded the bases and pushed two runs across, enough to earn the win for relief pitcher Evan Jones (2-1, 3.17 ERA).

With another full week off, the Saints plan on sticking to the “same game plan” as the regular season and attack the NWAC championships with healthy arms and bats, according to Donohue.

“The long break is kind of annoying,” he said. “But at the same time it is going to help some guys, mainly our position players (get rested) because our pitching has been great.”