By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
INDEPENDENCE, Ore.– Both the Corvallis Marketmen and Vencer Scout 18U squads took away one thing from their doubleheader at Central High School on Tuesday:
Consistent Energy.
Vencer took Game 1 7-4, in a game where they jumped out to a 7-2 lead after five innings and rode that momentum into the finish line. The Marketmen scored twice in the top half of the seventh inning to put some wind in their sails for Game 2 of the doubleheader, something that they fully took advantage of as they worked for the doubleheader split.
Corvallis’ Ben Weiss went six innings, striking out seven and allowing just four hits in the 4-2 victory for the American Legion squad. Weiss also led the offense with two hits with Jaden Fifhause (West Albany) driving in 2RBI’s in the process. Fifhause’s 2RBI single in the Top half of the fourth inning was part of a three-run inning that put the Marketmen ahead 3-0 at the time as they timed out Vencer’s pitching staff.
“We played really well in the first game, we just got to keep our foot on the gas and not letting those things get away from us because defensively we are a little here-and-there…we just got to keep the ball in the zone and just knowing where we’re going defensively for sure,” said Henry Wort.
And for Corvallis, they know they’ll need to come out sharper than they did in the doubleheader as they begin to prepare for the American Legion Triple-A State Playoffs here in a week-and-a-half.
“I think at the end of the last game, we were getting going. We scored two (runs) in that last inning, we came into the park a little flat and that’s something we’re looking to tune-up before the State Tournament,” starts Weiss. “We’re looking towards coming into games ready. We get a lot of freebies in these games, we can get punched in the face in a game and then we got the next game. But if we did that at the State Tournament, we’d be in a bad spot, so we had to come out of the gates early,” said Weiss, who finished with four hits on the day.
The score was 4-0 going into the sixth and remained the same going into the bottom half of the seventh when Vencer broke through. Wort, a Blanchet Catholic-grad and 3A Player of the Year, hit a two-run Home Run to get Vencer on the board late.
Tuesday’s doubleheader showcased why he earned that honor as he pitched Game 1 of the doubleheader, going four-and-two-third innings and struck out six while collecting two hits and drove in 2RBI’s on the day.
“I’ve been pitching well, today was a continuation of that. I’ve not been as good at the plate, but I think I’m getting back on track with that,” starts Wort. “(This Summer) has been huge, it builds a lot of confidence. It’s obviously different coming from a different level of competition. These are all 5A/6A guys, out-of-state some of them, but it’s huge building confidence and taking into a good Summer.”
Ryder Curtiss collected three hits and drove in 3RBI’s in the doubleheader with Thomas Hess hit a solo Home Run in the bottom half of the third inning during the first game of the day for Vencer.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
