By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
ST. PAUL, Ore.– It came down to small ball tactics in a game in which neither St. Paul of Country Christian/North Clackamas Christian could get anything going offensively Monday afternoon in the 2A/1A Special District 2 league game at St. Paul High School.
The Cougars Tyson Smith and the Buckaroos Brett Knutson both pitched Complete Games, but thanks to their defenses, both teams combined for five hits in a game where Country Christian/North Clackamas Christian won 2-0. The two runs came off an error in the fourth inning and another off a balk in the seventh inning, proving enough for the Cougars to build some separation between themselves and St. Paul.
“It was big time. Last week, we had several times where we had bases loaded and had guys on, and we didn’t take advantage of that. So taking advantage…getting that mindset of taking advantage of those guys on base was big for us,” said Smith, who threw a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. “We struggled early in the year where we lost a few games that we shouldn’t’ve lost, but to pick up a big win like this tonight is big for the team morale.
“Last week, we had a sweep (against Colton), but we did make some mistakes. We didn’t play a complete game. But to come out today, do our thing, and play a complete game overall, that’s what we needed to do,”
For the Bucks, they knew that this first game was going to be tough with Country Christian/North Clackamas Christian throwing their ace. But outside of two errors that resulted in runs, it was a pretty solid game for them as the series turns to Country Christian on Wednesday before returning to St. Paul, on Friday, still have an opportunity to take the league series and learn from this particular game moving forward.
“They threw their ace, and we couldn’t hit. Other than that, our fielding was good. We didn’t have many errors, but the errors that we did have ended up in runs. But it was a close game, and we knew that going into it that we had to play small ball, we just needed base runners,” said Knutson, who struck out seven batters. “It’s a big learning experience. We know their hitters now, and if that pitcher throws again, we’ll have to swing early and get on him early.”
Bricen Britten had the lone St. Paul hit in Monday’s game. Smith, Ethan Hiebenthal, Andrew Lee, and Jesse Hernandez each had a hit for the Cougars.
The first pitch at Country Christian is slated for 4:30pm on Wednesday.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
