Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
T.O.R. baseball
When the bus went through Dayton on the way there, the sign at the bank read 93 degrees.
It stayed that way when the Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosalia team arrived at Waitsburg to take a 7-4 playoff win and keep their season alive.
The Tuesdsay afternoon in Waitsburg came after a doubleheader at Rosalia Saturday in which the Spartans struggled, losing 18-13 and 6-0.
“The kids played well,” said T.O.R. coach Kevin Young, following the playoff win. “After Saturday, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but by golly, they got off the bus and played a pretty good ballgame.”
T.O.R. got it started in the second inning when Ty Mundt hit a sacrifice fly to score Jason Brown. Then the Spartans scored three runs in the third when Craig Nelson hit a two-RBI double.
After that, Waitsburg-Prescott closed in, cutting the lead to 4-3 in the fifth.
The score then held until the top of the seventh, when Ryan Maley and Brock Shelton hit singles and Nelson hit another RBI double.
A throwing error followed, before Micah Pittsley hit a base hit to score Nelson.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Spartans up 7-3, Waitsburg-Prescott scored a run and had runners at second and third with two out.
Their next batter hit a line drive to Shelton at second base. He caught it to end the game.
At the plate for the afternoon, Ryan Maley went 3 for 3 to lead the Spartans while Nelson went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs. In addition, Jason Brown went 2 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI.
Micah Pittsley pitched all seven innings to allow eight hits with nine strikeouts and seven walks.
“The biggest, telling stat in this whole game was they left 11 runners on base,” said Coach Young. “Micah pitched well in situations that really could have gotten out of hand.”
T.O.R. will play next on Saturday at Walla Walla. They face the winner of Dayton vs. Tri-Cities Prep.
Young said Pittsley will likely be on the mound.
“Probably Micah,” he said. “He’s my No. 1. He’s done really well. We’ll ride him as long as we can.”
May 4 doubleheader vs. Tri-Cities Prep
At Rosalia Saturday, it began with Tri-Cities Prep hitting the ball into the dandelions.
Then the Spartans started to do the same, landing hits in the outfield.
While Prep lead 12-4 in the fourth inning, T.O.R. later closed it to 12-10, on a two-run home run by Dylan Garrison.
“Here we go sticks!” called out voices from the Spartans dugout. “If it’s anything spinnin’, just leave it alone.”
By the time the smell of burgers wafted across the field in the fifth inning, Tri-Cities led 13-10 and built from there for a final score of 18-13.
Jason Brown led Spartans hitters, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs. Maley went 3 for 5 while Garrison went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. In addition, Shelton went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Nelson went 1 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs.
In the second game, after a break in which the teams ate barbecued hamburgers, Nelson had the lone hit for T.O.R. in the 6-0 loss, a double.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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