Grant Union/Prairie City pitcher Talon VanCleave just after delivering the pitch to a Vernonia batter on Monday, May 22, 2023.

SALEM — The Grant Union/Prairie City Prospector baseball team came up just short in their matchup with third-ranked Blanchet Catholic in the second round of the OSAA 1A/2A baseball tournament on Monday, May 22, falling 3-0 to end their season.

The Cavaliers got on the board in the opening inning via an RBI ground-out to take an early 1-0 lead. Another pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth gave the Cavaliers the 3-0 lead they would carry with them to the end of the game.

Offensively, the Pros just couldn’t find a rhythm. The team was held to just one hit in the game while giving up 11 strikeouts to the Cavaliers.

Weston Suchorski was the only Pro batter credited with a hit in the game. Suchorski went 1-2 at the plate.

Sheldon Lenz took the loss for the Pros on the mound. Lenz pitched the entire game, surrendering five hits and three runs while striking out three batters.

For the Pros the season is over. Grant Union/Prairie City head baseball coach RC Huerta said the team went into the game believing they could pull off the upset. “We went in there with confidence,” he said.

“We have been playing well; we’ve been in some tough games. They’ve battled, they’ve hung in there, they’ve come back, and so I feel like the boys were really ready,” he added.

The Pros lose Riddick Hutchison, someone Huerta says will be missed, but they bring almost everybody else back along with a crop of freshmen ready to step into productive roles with the team.

“I’d like to say we’re going to continue to build on this. I’m feeling good about it. I just appreciate all the support and appreciate the boys coming in and being willing to work hard,” he said.

This season marks the second straight year the Pros have won a game in the state baseball tournament. Last season the Pros were bounced 13-0 in the second round by eventual champion Kennedy.

This season the Pros again found themselves facing an opponent ranked in the top three in the second round of the state tournament. Despite the 3-0 loss, it appears the Pros have significantly closed the gap between themselves and the state’s elite on the baseball diamond.

2022 record: 16-11

2022 league record: 10-6

3+ game losing streaks: 2

Losses by 10+ runs: 2

2022 final OSAA ranking: 18

2023 record: 19-6

2023 league record: 10-2

Consecutive losses: 0

Losses by 10+ runs: 1

2023 final OSAA ranking: 14