Grant Union boys battle Elgin 2-1 to start league

Published 1:01 pm Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Grant Union’s league baseball opener was everything the Prospectors had hoped, defeating the Elgin Huskies April 10 with a 9-0 shutout in John Day.

Prospector head coach Dusty Williams was pleased with the win, but said he knew the Huskies, led by head coach Gregg Luse, would be ready to play “a little tougher” in Saturday’s home doubleheader.

Elgin won game one 2-0. Then Grant Union battled back for an 8-7 win in game two Saturday.

In the second game, Grant Union was down 6-2 when they made a comeback in the sixth inning.

Prospector Warner Robertson doubled. Then Damion Young singled, scoring Robertson.

Both Russell Hodge and Logan McCluskey were walked. With leadoff hitter Zack Deiter up to bat and the bases loaded, Elgin switched pitchers.

Deiter was hit by a pitch, scoring Young. Then Jacob Vaughan doubled for two RBIs and tied up the game 6-6.

When Ty McDaniel walked, and Roen Langum, one of Grant Union’s top hitters, came up to bat, Elgin again switched pitchers.

Langum singled to score Deiter and Vaughan for an 8-6 lead.

McCluskey, on the mound for the Prospectors, struck out Elgin’s first batter of the seventh, before things became dicey as Elgin loaded the bases, and a walk scored one run.

McCluskey, who relieved Robertson in the third, neared his pitch-count limit and was relieved by Hodge who finished out the game.

A double play, with a flurry of action, ended the game. After a force out at second base, the runner from first was called for interference.

“The kid running from first to second has to either vacate the baseline, or he has to slide,” Williams said. “Now, he didn’t slide, which is fine, but he also didn’t vacate the baseline to give the defense a clear path to throw the ball. He stayed in the base path running … so that (other) runner is automatically out at first base.”

Williams said he was pleased with McCluskey’s pitching.

“He threw a heck of a game for us,” the coach said. “For a freshman coming into a tight situation, he did a really good job.”

McCluskey said he was pleased with the 8-7 win.

“I think we played a lot better in the second game,” he said. “We executed plays better.”

Williams said Elgin’s pitcher from Saturday’s game one loss is likely to earn all-state honors this season.

“We hit the ball pretty hard today,” Williams said. “The first game, we hit the ball hard — it was just right at them. It was one of those games where you hit the ball, but you don’t find the hole. It’s just the way baseball goes. The second game, we started out throwing the ball around a little bit, had a few errors in the infield — didn’t help our pitching out at all. We battled back, and we did a good job coming back and getting the win.”

In the April 10 win, Grant Union outhit Elgin 12-3, and Deiter pitched a full game.

The game was called due to rain in the bottom of the seventh inning, so three Grant Union runs in the top of the seventh didn’t count, the game ending with the sixth inning score.

“We just have to continue to work hard and focus in practice and get better every day,” Williams said after that game.

The Prospectors hosted the Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/Ukiah Rockets on Tuesday in league action, past press time.

Grant Union is on the road to Pilot Rock for a doubleheader at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Prospectors are currently 7-7 on the season and ranked No. 17 among OSAA’s 2A teams. The Rockets are 8-2 and ranked No. 9.