By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
DALLAS, Ore.– Crosshill Christian’s Carter Hinderks and Willamina’s Nico Zito held their own against some high caliber Southern Oregon talent on Friday evening.
Being called up from the Post 20 Dirtbags Single-A squad to the Post 20 Dirtbag Triple-A squad for Friday’s doubleheader against the Grants Pass Nuggets, the duo held the hot bats of the Area-4 squad in check for the first five innings of Game 2 of the non-league series. The Area-4 league at the American Legion Triple-A level, which incompasses the Southern Oregon region from Medford to Eugene, has been dominant at the level with the State Champion coming from the league all but one year since the 2014 season.
And though the Nuggets took the first game of the doubleheader 14-8, the Dirtbags, with a handful of their Single-A players joining Hinderks and Zito on this day, buckled down in Game 2.
Hinderks got the start, going four innings and striking out four batters before handing things over to Zito in the fourth inning.
“I thought I did well, I struggled with command a little bit, but overall, I was pleased with my throw,” said Hinderks. “I thought we limited the hard contact, that kind of stuff.”
Hinderks, an incoming sophomore for the 2A Eagles squad, spoke to the higher caliber of competition that he’s faced will go a long way for him in preparation to help the young Crosshill Christian program take that next step towards the postseason this next Spring.
Zito, who pitched two innings in the first game and allowed one run, spoke to a similar message as Hinderks in helping him prepare for his junior season with the Bulldogs. Zito came into the second game on Friday with one out in the top half of the fourth inning and had a runner on the basepaths. For Zito, he pitched to contact and quickly turned a double play to end the inning a batter into his appearance and held the Nuggets to one run in the fifth inning in what was a 5-5 ballgame going into the sixth inning.
“It’s definitely a step up from the Single-A level…(It showed) that I can pitch and play Triple-A. At the start (of the second game), we gave it our all, we put up a fight, and we stopped them for a second,” said Zito, who pitched four-and-a-third innings total on Friday.
The youth that the Dirtbags had on the field showed in the sixth inning, however, against Grants Pass. The Nuggets forced uncharacteristic errors to occur for Post 20 as they were able to take Game 2 of the doubleheader on Friday, 20-6.
The Dirtbags will head to Corvallis on Tuesday to start their Area-3 League Series with the Marketmen for a doubleheader before hosting Corvallis on Wednesday at Dallas High School for a single game.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
