White hot start, ice cold finish

It was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performance by the Mt. Hood Saints baseball team this past Saturday, as they took on Linn-Benton Community College in a midday doubleheader at Oslund Field in Gresham.

After winning smoothly, 6-2, in game one, the Saints (2-2 in South Region action, and 10-13 overall) turned around and laid an egg, a 12-0 loss to the Roadrunners (4-4, 14-10) in the nightcap.

What a change in events for both teams.

In the opener, the Saints jumped out to an early lead, piling on four runs in the bottom half of the second inning. Sophomore second baseman Jay Becker and freshman third baseman Jace McKinney led the way on offense, each with a pair of hits in the winning effort. Freshman Cobi Johnson (2-0, 1.42 ERA) picked up the victory on the bump for the Saints, after coming in the fifth inning for freshman starting pitcher Connor Stevenson (0-2, 3.32 ERA). Johnson only gave up two hits, while striking out five – not too shabby for the Kelso, Wash., native.

“We put up a four-spot and had some quality at-bats with runners in scoring position,” said Donohue. “We just connected a bunch of hits together. We probably put up more crooked numbers because we piece together one huge inning. And when you play nine innings, you can’t just have one big inning.”

In game two, the Saints ran into the left arm of sophomore Linn-Benton ace Connor Qualley (3-0, 0.48 ERA), who pitched a complete game shutout, his first of the early season. Qualley only needed 96 pitches in the effort.

“We made nine errors in that game, including five by our shortstop (JT Williams),” said Donohue.

“It snowballed out of control quickly and they took advantage of our mistakes. That was the biggest disappointment, because we let those errors effect us the rest of the game,” the coach said. “But it wasn’t surprising, with the way we were playing. That’s why we are close to a .500 team, because of so many ups and downs. I even received some calls from people saying, ‘Wow, you lost 12-0…’ And I told them they should have been there.”

The Roadrunners flipped the script and found their offensive mojo, out-hitting the Saints 11-4. Saints sophomore starting pitcher Nate Hunter (1-3, 8.03 ERA) picked up his third consecutive loss after winning his first start of the season back on Feb. 26. The Sam Barlow High School product lasted only four innings. He gave up seven runs, while only four of them were actually earned.

“The numbers don’t lie, (Hunter) has been struggling,” said Donohue. “But we have so much confidence in him, especially coming off such a good freshman season. He was kind of under the radar. He didn’t even play his entire senior year of high school. He just hasn’t been sharp. But he knows what he has to do. His mentality is fine. I’m sure he’s not too excited about his stats. He just needs to be more consistent.”

Today, the Saints travel to Eugene to square off with their regional foe Lane Community College Titans (2-2, 14-6). The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. at Titan Field.

The Saints and Titans then travel north to play a doubleheader at Oslund Field in Gresham on Saturday.

Lane head coach Josh Blunt is looking forward to the challenge to square off against Donohue & Co. This will be Lane’s first home series of the year due to poor weather, according to Blunt.

“It should be a competitive series. The reality is, (the Saints) have lost to some tough teams and they have been in a lot of close games, “ said Blunt. “I don’t think their record is any indication of how good they really are. It should be competitive, like it always is.”