Prospector baseball splits with Heppner/Ione

The Grant Union/Prairie City/Monument baseball team split a par of games with Heppner/Ione at Malone Field in John Day on Saturday, March 16, winning the first game while coming up just short in the second.

The Prospectors defeated the visiting Mustangs 4-3 to open the two-game set. The Pros took an early 1-0 lead after the first inning only for the Mustangs to score three straight in the top of the third to take a 3-1 advantage.

The Pros would shut the Mustangs out from that point on, adding runs in the third, fifth and seventh innings to come away with the 4-3 victory.

Talon Van Cleave was the winning pitcher for the Prospectors, surrendering three runs on five hits while striking out nine Mustang batters. Weston Suchorski led the Pros offensively, going 1 for 2 at the plate with a pair of RBIs.

The second game of the doubleheader saw the Pros outhit the Mustangs 13-5 but still fall 8-6.

Like the first game, the Pros drew first blood, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first to take an early 2-0 lead.

The Mustangs would cut that lead in half in the top of the third, with the Pros adding another run in the bottom of the fourth as a response to leave the game at 3-1 headed into the fifth. Heppner would score seven runs combined in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to seal game two.

The Prospectors used four pitchers in the game, with Kingdon Kirby taking the loss for Grant Union. Kirby pitched a single inning, surrendering two hits and a run while striking out a single batter. Sheldon Lenz led the Pros on offense, finishing 1 for 2 at the plate while driving in two runs.

The Pros are now 2-1 on the season and were set to play Baker/Powder Valley on Tuesday, March 19, before heading out to Arizona for a four-game stretch against some unfamiliar competition.