By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
PORTLAND, Ore.– Silverton’s Trey Carstensen came into a hornet’s nest of sorts in the Opening Round of the American Legion Triple-A State Playoffs against the Medford Mustangs.
It was the fourth inning, the Mustangs led 10-0 with all the momentum in the world against the Crushers when Carstensen came in for Post 58 Starter Ryne Hockman. But using his first-pitch fastball, Carstensen was able to halt the Medford bats.
As a matter of fact, in the three innings that Carstensen pitched to close out what would be a 10-3 defeat, Carstensen held the juggernaut program in the Mustangs to one-hit and struck out one batter. It allowed the Crushers to build some momentum going into Sunday’s elimination game with the Roseburg Doc Stewart’s.
“Just really getting ahead with the fastball, and I was able to mix in more. So first pitch was a fastball, which was the biggest thing for me…I was trying to fill up the zone and let my fielder’s work,” said Carstensen. “We saw the ball really well that second half of the game, and we started to get some hits. We made plays in the field. The goal is to carry that over into tomorrow and keep going with it.”
Carstensen got the Crushers on the board in the top half of the fourth inning with a single. Stayton’s Wade Bergdahl also drove in a run for the Post 58 squad. Silverton’s James Collier collected two hits for the Post 58 squad.
The Crushers will look to extend their season
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
