Wednesday, April 13, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
15
Outlaws strand too many runners in league start
By Rongi yost
Correspondent
The Outlaws packed in
three league games this past
week, but were only able
to tally one victory. Sisters
lost 6-2 at home to Cottage
Grove on Monday, April 4,
but two days later were able
to take down the Sweet Home
Huskies 3-1 in a home match-
up. On Friday, the Outlaws
lost 3-2 at Elmira.
In Monday’s game, the
Outlaws banged out nine hits
against Cottage Grove, but
were unable to string them
together to bring home run-
ners. Twice, the Outlaws left
the bases loaded with no outs,
and over the course of the
game left a total of 10 runners
stranded on base.
Alec Gannon and Jake
Stevens scored Sisters’ two
runs in the contest. Ryan Funk
went three-for-four with a
double, and Gannon went
two-for-four.
O n We d n e s d a y, t h e
Outlaws defeated the Sweet
Home Huskies 3-1 at home in
Sisters.
Sisters got their three
runs off of five hits and had
no errors in the game. The
Huskies got one run off two
hits and committed one error.
Gannon scored Sisters’
first run of the contest. Alec
got on base with a single,
stole second, and was brought
home off a Zach Morgan
base-hit single to left field. At
the close of the first inning the
Outlaws were on top 1-0.
The Outlaws added two
runs in the second. Stevens
got to first via a walk, and
Will Werts followed with a
single to left field. Gannon
hit a ball to second, an error
occurred, and Stevens came
home. Christopher Luz had a
safety-squeeze bunt down the
first-base line to score Werts.
Ryan Funk was the
Outlaws’ winning pitcher,
which earned him his first-
ever varsity victory. Funk
pitched six innings and
recorded three strike-outs.
Morgan struck-out the side in
the seventh to earn the save.
“Ryan wasn’t even sched-
uled to pitch,” said Coach
Steve Hodges. “He just found
out we needed him to pitch a
half-hour before the start of
the game. He did an outstand-
ing job and kept the hitters off
balance...”
Two spectacular plays
highlighted the Outlaws out-
standing defense. Morgan,
bare-handed, fielded a short
hopper at third, and — off-
balance — threw out the run-
ner at first by a step. Gannon
made an out-stretched diving
play at second and threw the
runner out at first by a step.
“Morgan’s play was just
outstanding,” said Hodges.
“You don’t very often see
a play like this at the high
school level. It was a momen-
tum-builder and a game-
changer. It was big motivation
to us to really compete and
finish it out. It really was a
catalyst for us winning today.”
Sisters wrapped up their
week with a devastating loss
to Elmira on Friday.
The Outlaws out-hit the
Falcons 7-4 and did a bet-
ter job on the mound, but the
big factor in the loss was the
team’s 10 strike-outs.
“When you have 10 strike-
outs, it’s pretty hard to say
your offense is firing on all
cylinders,” said Hodges.
A bright spot came when
Ryan Cook hit a solo home
run 350 feet over the left-cen-
ter fence, and tied the game at
1-1.
Elmira added a run in
the third, but the Outlaws
answered with a run of their
own to tie it up 2-2. Morgan
reached first on a single, and
Jake Larson got to first via a
walk. Jake Stevens stepped up
to the plate, drove the ball to
the fence, and it bounced over.
“That really proved to be
a disadvantage to us, because
it was an automatic ground
rule double,” stated Hodges.
photo by Jerry baldoCK
First baseman Connor lake with an out against Sweet home.
“Stevens got the RBI for driv-
ing home Morgan, but Jake
(Larson), who would have
scored if the ball would have
stopped at the fence, was held
up at third.”
The Falcons drove in their
final run in the fifth and held
on for the win.
Hodges told The Nugget
that Morgan threw six strong
innings for the Outlaws, and
only gave up four hits. Hodges
added he was pleased with
the defense, all the pitching
efforts, which have kept the
Outlaws in games, but isn’t
happy about all the runners
that have been left on base.
“We’re leaving too many
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runners that are in scor-
ing position on base,” said
Hodges. “If we’d just scored
half of those we’ve left on,
we’d be undefeated in league.
It’s just a matter of putting the
ball in play, especially with
less than two outs and run-
ners in scoring position. If we
can do that, then we’ll see the
rewards. And, that’s where
you build momentum.”
Sisters was to play at
Junction City on Monday,
April 11. On Wednesday,
April 13, Sisters plays at
home against Sutherlin, and
on Friday they will match
up at home against Cottage
Grove.
Breakfast 6-11 | Soup 11-2 daily | Buy coffee at SistersCoffee.com
541-549-0527 • 273 W. Hood Ave.
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