By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
DALLAS, Ore.– The Dallas baseball team just keeps finding ways to win ball games.
Defense was their calling card Friday evening against Silverton in the Mid-Willamette Conference game. Jack Strange got the start, going five innings and striking out seven in his start before Bennett Cresswell pitched two innings of perfect baseball to close out a 3-1 victory over the Foxes. The two pitchers only permitted four hits on the day.
“We came out, we knew we were playing a good team, and we got to play a tough defense all game. Pitchers threw well. We had a lot of competitive at-bats. It was just a good game all around,” said Strange.
Dallas struck first in the bottom half of the first inning when they loaded up the bases with one out, and Patrick Drane hit into a sacrifice fly that drove in a run. It was the only run of the inning that Silverton’s Bryson Nygren forced a ground-out the next at-bat to keep the damage limited.
Silverton tied it up in the top half of the second inning thanks to a TreyCarstensen single. Hits were difficult to come by for the Foxes offense, who are currently in a slump, but are confident that they can correct the ship in time to seal up one of the playoff spots out of the MWC by season’s end.
“I think it taught us a little bit about toughness. I thought we had a great practice yesterday and came back today, I thought we played well. They just played better,” said Ryne Hockman. “It’s a big game next Monday against South Albany… we just got to pick it up and keep rolling through the end of the season.”
Hockman came in for relief for Nygren in the fourth inning, throwing three innings worth of three-hit baseball with five strikeouts.
The score remained tied at one until the bottom of the third inning, where Dallas plated two more runs off of RBI singles by Landon Holbrook and Eli Sledge. The two runs proved to be all the difference they needed as their defense continued to lock it down as the Dragons improved to 9-1 in league play and 14-3 overall going into Monday’s game with Crescent Valley/Kings Valley Carter.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
