Grant Union’s Parker Neault (5) scores a run on Saturday, April 23, 2022, against Dufur.

MOUNT ANGEL — The Grant Union/Prairie City baseball season is over.

The Pros lost to a tough Kennedy team on the road Wednesday, May 25, after falling into a nine-run hole in the first inning they just couldn’t claw their way out of. The Pros fell in the second round state playoff game 13-0 to finish the season with a record of 16-11.

Grant Union/Prairie City head coach RC Huerta was disappointed with the loss but added that you can’t fall behind early to a team like Kennedy and expect to climb back into the game.

“This is what I’ve been talking about all season: You can’t have that bad inning,” he said. “Kennedy was tough, but when you shoot yourself in the foot. … You know, we just weren’t on that day, and that makes it tough. Not to make excuses, but about half of the team came down with sickness. It was a hot day and they weren’t feeling good. I felt like they were ready to play, though, but that first inning just made it tough.”

Huerta said his team battled all season after starting slow and being out of the playoff picture for much of the season. “Having 11 players all year and starting three freshmen, three sophomores, a junior and three seniors — what we did was quite a feat, I feel. I’m pretty honored to be the coach of that program, and they really worked hard and did a good job.”

Despite the disappointing loss, the cupboards aren’t bare and the Pros have a great amount of talent coming back to the squad next season.

“This is an excellent thing to learn from,” Huerta said. “Just because you go play a good game in the first round, you still have more games to go. For them to have a taste of that at such a young age, I think the young guys are going to learn from that. They aren’t going to want to have that again. They’re going to come out next year foaming at the mouth. I’m excited about the future.”

Huerta also took time to praise the leadership of the team’s three seniors for setting the foundation the team built upon this season.

“Those three seniors, nobody thought they would become the leaders that they were back when I first got here,” he said. “Parker (Neualt) and Mason (Morris) were on my team when I first got here, and Kobe (Fell) came on as a sophomore. They’re quiet and unassuming and just go about their business, but the leadership skills they developed and setting the foundation for the young guys to look up to them, it was huge. The young guys are really going to benefit from that. They had a tough loss, and they’ll learn from that.”

The support from the community is something Huerta also acknowledged.

“I’m grateful to be alive and I’m grateful to be in this community,” he said. “It’s a tremendous feeling when they are there to support you, and the kids feel the same. You drive by Chester’s and they bring out doughnuts. The coaching staff remembers that and the kids remember that and we want to work hard for them. We want to get bigger and bigger crowds at the games. If we can continue to get that all-encompassing support — and I think we will — things will just continue to grow and get better and better.”