By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– When West Salem’s Jackson Olson walked out to the mound for the seventh inning, he, and the Wellcare Dodgers American Legion team were in foreign territory:
Leading in a game.
They led 3-2 at this point and were three outs away from their first victory since July 23, 2023. That was a 8-7 victory over the Wet Sox in the American Legion Triple-A State Playoffs in Eugene. And since then, it’s been a nightmarish scenario for the Doyers since that late-July day.
Their 12-5 defeat to the Mid-Valley Southpaws from Albany the next day sparked what became a 62-game losing streak for one of the premier American Legion squads in the State.
Olson got a line-out to start the inning. Then the Newberg Premier squad, the team who Wellcare, formally known as Withnell, got a single and moved the tying run over with a sac-bunt. They were one out away from victory and one blooping hit to the outfield would tie this thing up.
The Dodgers came close to snapping the streak back on Wednesday when they jumped out to a 11-3 lead on the Columbia River Gorge Hustlers, only to see the Single-A team rally for the 17-11 victory in The Dalles.
But. On this day. The streak came to an end.
Olson forced a ground-out and it was taken by Tanner Antone for the tag at first base to get the Dodgers back in the win-column for the first time since 2023.
“I really wanted to get this team their first win in two years. My main mission was to do whatever it takes, get the ball over the plate and not make any mental mistakes and we should get out of here with a dub,” said Olson. “I’m really proud. I’m really proud to be a part of this and get to contribute towards the first win in 62-games, it’s pretty amazing.”
“It was really nice seeing our players come together and put on some hits in a row. It’s good to see a new group out here competing with good teams and finally getting that win after a few years,” adds Sprague’s Shai Rasmussen. “We just have to keep our mentality. Keep this win in the back of our minds and don’t get too on it because we’ll get behind. Keep this win in the back of our minds and get some more.”
After missing sometime his freshman year, Rasmussen closed out his freshman year strongly and contributed with two hits and 2RBI’s in the Dodgers 3-2 victory on Monday. Rasmussen, as an incoming High Schooler last Summer, was part of the Dodgers 0-27 squad.
And it really speaks volumes to what they’re taking from first-year Dodger Head Coach Easton Bennett to heart.
“We’ve been giving them tools to work with, whether it’s on the pitching side, at the plate, or on defense. Just trying to give them tools that are going to help them play winning baseball. It’s basic stock baseball, but they’re buying into it,” Bennett said.
Now that they put an end to the nightmare, they’re hoping to do something that they haven’t done since that 2023 season and to string together a few wins. They’ll have that opportunity Thursday at Regis High School when they take on the Post 58 Crushers in American Legion Triple-A Area-3 action.
Olson also contributed two hits and drove in a run to go with his one inning of relief. Damon Lawrence (Sweet Home High School) contributed two hits. Sprague’s Jaxson Redel struck out four pitching and Preston Bryan contributed another three strikeouts in the win.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
