Saints stay perfect in league play, win ninth in a row

 

The Saints’ quest for another NWAC baseball title has started out rather well as they swept South Region opponent Clark College in four games played on April 4 and on Monday.

In the first game in Vancouver, Wash., Clark jumped out to a early lead in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs. The Saints were scoreless for the first six innings, but finally answered in the top of the seventh, to cut the lead to one run.

In the top of the eighth, the Mt. Hood batters came alive, scoring three runs to take the lead at 4-2. Isaac Benard’s home run added two to the three-inning run. The top of the ninth saw another three-inning run, extending the lead to 7-2, continuing the Saints’ offensive surge in league play.  The Penguins had a chance to answer back in the bottom of the ninth, but would only score one run, as the game ended with a 7-3 Saints win.

Mt. Hood finished with eight hits and seven runs, led by Isaac Benard with 3 RBIs. Benard now has four home runs on the season. Pitcher Seth Rayburn took the win for the Saints, improving to 2-1 on the season.

In Game 2, the Saints would shut out the Penguins in seven innings, 6-0. Mt. Hood’s Nathan Hunter pitched all seven innings, allowing only four hits. The Mt. Hood batters again had no trouble driving in runs, finishing with eight hits.

The series moved back home to Gresham on Monday, and Mt. Hood again shut out the Penguins. Joe Balfour pitched a complete 5-0 game for the Saints in the opener, allowing only three hits while recording seven strikeouts. He improved to 4-1 on the season, with a 1.50 earned run average. Mt. Hood batters stayed hot, finishing with 10 hits.

The Saints closed out the series with a fourth straight win. At first it looked like easy sailing, as they went on a four-run tear in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a Tommy Lane home run that also scored Kody Matthews and Louis Wolf. Lane now has seven home runs on the season, to go with 24 RBIs, both tops for the Saints.

The Penguins answered back in the top of the second with four runs of their own. The game stayed tied until the bottom of the fourth, when Mt. Hood would go on a five-run surge, putting the game away with a 9-4 lead. Clark could manage only two more runs, and the Saints swept another league series with the 9-6 final.

The Saints are now 8-0 in league play and are atop the South Region, along with Linn-Benton Community College, also undefeated in league play at 4-0.

(On Tuesday, the Saints played a non-conference game, beating the Concordia University junior varsity team, 9-0, at Concordia. The two sides are scheduled to play again in Gresham at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.)

Mt. Hood is 16-7 overall, and has won nine games straight. The way their offense has played and the way their pitchers have pitched, the Saints look to be the early South favorites.

Today at home, Mt. Hood opens up a two- game series with division rival Chemeketa. Game time for the opener is 3 p.m.

The two teams then play a single game on Saturday, at 2 p.m.