By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
ALBANY, Ore.– The Chemeketa Baseball team brought the energy in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader against NWAC Juggernaut Linn-Benton.
The defense was there. Max Eaton paced the Storm through the first five-and-a-third, striking out four before handing the reigns over to Pelham Statton and Cam Garrett over the next three-plus innings. It was scheduled to be a seven-inning NWAC South Region contest, but after seven innings it was tied at three.
And it remained tied at three after the eighth and ninth innings. The Storm were once again proving to be the thorn of the side of the Roadrunners. Of their previous five games, soon to be six after this particular game, Chemeketa found themselves in a one-run game with the squad from Albany.
“The biggest thing is bringing the energy and having that ‘screw it’ attitude that we’re moving onto the next whatever the next thing is and ‘I’m ready for it’ and ‘I want the moment’. When our guys are doing that, they’re playing free and they’re playing at the moment, they’re really good.” said Chemeketa Head Coach Gherrett Moser. “Just having them play free and having them play inspired is what we’re asking them these last 20 games.”
For the Storm Head Coach, two moments stuck out to him offensively for his squad. The first came in the Top half of the fifth inning when they wheeled off four, two-out hits to take a then 3-2 lead on Linn-Benton. The next moment came in the Top half of the tenth inning to finally break that three-all tie.
Chemeketa got base-runnings on and tried moving them over with a bunt when Owen Sonne was at bat. After two bunt attempts that didn’t go right, Sonne got the green light to swing. Sonne, who picked up his first collegiate hit of his career earlier in the game, hit a double over the Left Fielder to give the Storm a 4-3 lead.
“I think that’s a huge moment for him, and a huge moment for us not quitting. Especially not getting that bunt down and not having a hit and finding a way to get a hit in Game 2 today,” said Moser.
The lead was short-lived however.
Linn-Benton flexed their muscle in the bottom half of the tenth inning and were able to get the two runs needed to end the contest via walk-off, 5-4 on Saturday.
It was a heartbreaking way to end an otherwise great game for the Storm. And for the third time in six games, they were in a one-run ballgame with one of the best teams in all of the NWAC. And with 20 or so games left in the regular season, it was yet another promising step forward for them as they’ll look to continue to duplicate Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader.
“The guys wanted it to be a fight. They wanted it to be competitive and they wanted no excuse in why things didn’t go our way and I think that’s the thing I’m most proud of when I’m reflecting on Game 1 versus Game 2. The guys came out and they fought and that’s all I’m really wanting them to do,” said Moser.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
