By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SILVERTON, Ore.– It was a tough way to end Thursday’s home, and season, opener against Cleveland. But Silverton’s baseball team showed resilience and determination, especially for a young roster tasked with replacing five key seniors from last year’s playoff squad.
The Foxes jumped out to a quick 3–0 lead heading into the second inning, thanks in part to a three-run home run by James Collier.
From there, Cleveland chipped away at the deficit and eventually took a 6–3 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning. Despite finishing with just two hits on the day, the Warriors capitalized on Silverton’s youth and five errors, turning extra baserunners into runs—two of which came off errors.
Starting in the bottom half of the fifth inning, that’s when the Foxes began to lock it in. They got a run back in the bottom half of the fifth off a Fielder’s Choice. Henry Briggs, who came in for Collier in the fifth inning pitching, pitched shutouts in the sixth and seventh innings.
With daylight fading, it became a race to finish the game—and that’s when Silverton’s bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh. The Foxes methodically loaded the bases and pushed a run across on a wild pitch. But then, heartbreak.
Just as they loaded up the bases, the tying run at third and the winning run at second, the game was called due to darkness. Ending the Silverton rally just shy of a possible comeback finish as they fell 6-5.
Despite the result, some good came out of the game as they look to carry the momentum over to the Springfield Tournament that starts on Monday.
“A lot of good things from this game. I like the way our guys played the game, we continued to fight. We got some runs put up on us, but we responded. We never got down. Those are good things and we got to clean a few of the baseball things up. Making plays in the field , some base running errors. I think we’re going to be there, I feel good about what we got going on right now,” said Silverton Head Coach Colton Meyer.
“”It’ll be a lot of reps in a short amount of days,” Meyer said of the Springfield Tournament. “But I’m really excited for the team to be down there together to really be a team and to have that environment down there and find our identity a little bit right now. Those four days are going to show what kind of team we’re going to be this year and I feel good with what the guys are going to produce down in Springfield.
Silverton opens the tournament against McDaniel on Monday at 3pm at the Hamlin Sports Complex
In the game on Thursday, Collier struck out seven batters in four innings and Briggs struck out another four. Nolan Horner and Luke Horner each led the Foxes with two hits apiece.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
