By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
DALLAS, Ore. — After 11 long games, the Post 20 Dirtbags are finally back in the win column.
Something juat clicked for the Dirtbags following the opening game of Wednesday’s Area-3 doubleheader. Following their 18-3 defeat to open the day, Post 20 found the motivation to pull themselves off the baseball mat of sorts, brushed themselves off, and they came out firing in Game 2.
They built a 9-5 lead on the Crushers, this was going into the fourth inning. And though Post 20 rallied, tying the game up at 11 by the time the bottom of the sixth inning came around, this was the day in which the Dirtbags weren’t going to let it slip away.
After the Crushers tied it up, Post 20 scored five runs in the bottom half of the sixth to essentially put the game out of reach at 16-11 before Post 58 cut it down to size in the seventh.
“It was really big, we’ve been losing a lot lately, so to come out here and get a win… hopefullyit’ll spark some more wins going forward,” said Dallas’ Patrick Drane. “I think that’s going to help our team going forward. We’re a lot of streaky guys, I think it’s going to help us get a hot streak going.”
Drane led the offensive charge, going 4-for-4 with 4RBI’S for an offense that produced 19 hits and drove in 13 of their 16 runs.
“It was big for me because I’ve been slumping lately. It really helped me out mentally,” Drane said of his performance.
For the Crushers, the bats were there on Wednesday. 29 hits and 32 runs were great coming down the stretch for the season, but it was the little things in Game 2 that ultimately separated Post 20 from them.
“It’s great. Normally, we don’t come out swinging like that very often, so when we do, it’s pretty awesome,” said Stayton’s Colton Connally. “Just being ready (against Corvallis), be on time, and let the bats do their thing.”
Connally led the Post 58 squad with four hits and driving in three runs. The Crushers James Collier and Post 20’s Tommy Hess each hit a home run in the doubleheader.
The Crushers close out the Area-3 schedule next Wednesday when they host the league leading Marketmen.
The Dirtbags will have a doubleheader against the Hillsdale Merchants on Sunday before hosting their Single-A squad on Tuesday before going into their league season finale against the Newport Dungies on July 21 and 23.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
