Grant Union boys to face Reedsport in state playoff

Published 5:09 pm Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Grant Union pitcher Zack Deiter and some hot Prospector bats got the job done today in their 8-1 win over the Elgin Huskies in Thursday’s district play-in to the OSAA Baseball State Championship playoffs.

The Prospectors will face the Reedsport Braves at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, in Reedsport.

“The kids they were fired up today, and had two double plays today,” said Grant Union head coach Dusty Williams. “Zack Deiter threw a heck of a game.”

It was the small ball with “a lot of hit and running” that made the difference, the coach said.

He added “We put the ball in play and hit the ball really well today.”

Facing Elgin pitcher Caleb Lathrop was no easy task, the last time the Prospectors were up against him, Grant Union lost 2-0 (on April 14).

“He’s probably the second best pitcher in the league,” Williams said. “We knew we had to get on him early, and that’s why we changed the batting order a little bit today. We led off with Wade (Reimers), one of our best hitters.”

Grant Union was first on the scoreboard after Warner Robertson singled, sending Reimers home in the bottom of the first inning.

Prospector Roen Langum singled to start off the second and Deiter’s bunt sent Langum home.

It was three up and three down in the top of the third, with Deiter striking out two Elgin batters, and Ty McDaniel getting a runner out at first.

Two sacrifice hits brought in two more runs for the Prospectors in the bottom of the fourth for a 4-0 lead.

Elgin, led by head coach Gregg Luse, scored one run in the top of the fifth and Grant Union scored another in the bottom of the inning.

Grant Union fans cheered loudly when, in the sixth, Prospector second baseman Logan McCluskey tagged Elgin’s Bubba Palmer out and threw to McDaniel at first, getting Lathrop out.

In the second half of the inning, Reimers scored on an error and McDaniel singled for two RBIs, Robertson and Jacob Vaughan.

Deiter walked one Husky in the seventh, but kept Elgin at bay for the win.

Third baseman Robertson said he was excited about the win.

“I’m in raw emotions, seeing all the guys come together,” he said. “We played dang good baseball — I’m proud to be going to state.”

Vaughan said that after two straight wins “we just don’t want to go home.”

Reimers agreed.

“We don’t want to be done,” he said. “I’m proud of the team. I want to thank the younger kids for helping us out. They’ve been tremendous this year.”

Williams said his team has had their ups and downs this year, and sometimes their intensity hasn’t been there and a few games slipped away.

He said this time the boys came out “fired up” with everyone talking and having fun before the game.

“I thought, ‘Today’s going to be a good day,’” he said, adding. “This is the best they’ve played all year — they looked like a good baseball team today.”

Williams said they’ll likely find out on Friday night or Saturday who they’ll face in the round one state playoff game.

He said this week they’ll practice hard and focus on their goal — “try to win a state championship.”

Grant Union is ranked 15th among OSAA’s 2A/1A teams with a 14-11 overall record. Out of 25 games, the Prospectors scored 174 runs and has allowed 116 runs.

Reedsport is ranked No. 2 with a 23-1 overall record. Out of 24 games, the Braves scored 246 runs and allowed 49 runs.

Grant Union stats

At bats/hits/runs/RBI/average

Wade Reimers: 1/1/2/1/1.000

Zack Deiter: 3/2/0/1/.667

Warner Robertson: 3/1/1/2/.333

Jacob Vaughan: 4/2/1/2/.250

Ty McDaniel: 4/1/0/2/.250

Roen Langum: 3/2/2/0/.667

Logan McCluskey: 4/1/0/0/.250

Cole Deiter: 2/0/1/0/.000

Russell Hodge: 2/0/1/0/.333

Innings pitches/strikeouts/runs

Zack Deiter: 7/4/1