SPORTS
A8 — THE OBSERVER
TEAM
Continued from Page A7
toward and put themselves in that
position to be in. The belief is so
strong in them that they are the
guys for the job. They believe
when it is their time to go, they
will get it done.”
The coach noted it’s conta-
gious, too, and that when the
momentum starts going, the suc-
cess can take off in a hurry.
Schow said that any player in
the batting order, one through
nine, can come up with the key
play when their number is called
— then took it a step further,
saying any of the 20 players on
the team can come through.
“You can have faith in anybody
on the team to score the RBIs that
we need,” he said.
Several players after the cham-
pionship win also pointed to the
team’s continuity in that many of
the players have been on the same
teams for years — as far back as
when they were 8 years old.
“I think part of it is defi nitely
that we’ve just been playing
together for so long and we all just
trust each other,” Bornstedt said.
“None of us are really trying to
do it all ourselves. We all want to
do it for the next guy. Defi nitely
THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022
than 50 plate appearances hit
ERA. And three other pitchers
above .300. Ten players had 10 or
had a mark under 0.50 (including
more RBIs on the season, but only one player, Logan Williams, who
two had more than 30. Twelve dif- fi nished with an ERA of 0.00).
ferent players accounted for at
That sheer level of dominance
least 10 of La Grande’s 326 runs.
is why McKinley said last week
While there were some stunning
he could feel confi dent with any
individual per-
player taking
“All 20 teammates
formances
the mound.
Schow didn’t
on the season
were there for the same disappoint,
— Bell fi n-
striking out 11
ished with a
reason and the same
batters in six
.539 average,
common goal, and they innings, and
10 home runs
just
and 69 RBIs
executed it really well.” allowing
one run — on a
— McKinley
balk — on six
called it a team — Parker McKinley, La Grande
hits.
that wasn’t cen- baseball head coach
“I think
tered around
it’s really that (team) chemistry,”
just one player’s eff orts.
That was evident on the mound Schow said. “The fact that you
know the whole team trusts that
all season as well.
you can do what you can do, it
The Tigers fi nished with a
allows us to have the confi dence
team ERA this spring of 0.85, a
to trust in ourselves.”
number that would be stunning
The team’s balance and com-
enough if it was a player’s mark.
As a team, La Grande surrendered pleteness was on display all
Suzie Collman/Contributed Photo just 38 runs, 21 of them earned.
season long to the tune of 28
La Grande celebrates Jace Schow’s home run in the sixth inning during the Tigers’ The Tigers threw 15 shutouts.
wins, including 24 in a row.
10-1 win over Hidden Valley in the OSAA Class 4A state championship game on
And, in Keizer on June 7, the
The individual numbers are
Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer. Schow also earned the win on more staggering. Five diff erent
pinnacle — a state title — came
the mound, fanning 11 and walking only one over six innings of work.
pitchers logged at least 10 innings with it seeming like everyone was
involved — because they all were.
this season, and three more
we know and trust each other
“All 20 teammates were there
The stats bear that point out,
pitched 30 or more. Of the fi ve,
that we’re going to make the rou-
too. As a team, La Grande fi n-
the highest ERA was 2.47. Schow, for the same reason and the same
tine playing and the outstanding
ished with a batting average of
the championship game’s winning common goal, and they executed
plays.”
it really well,” McKinley said.
.363. Seven players with more
pitcher, fi nished 10-0 with a 1.45
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Continued from Page A7
knockout blow in the fi fth.
“Eventually the dam
broke,” Bornstedt said. “As
a team we were putting a
lot of pressure on them the
whole game.”
La Grande loaded the
bases with one out, and
Cesar Rodriguez walked to
force in a run for a 5-1 lead.
On the next pitch, Braden
Carson hit a two-run single
to center, and three pitches
later, Armstrong hit a
two-run double to chase
Vidlak from the game and
push the lead to 9-1.
“We just put everything
together, didn’t let up on the
gas, and I would say just
tied some runs together that
needed to happen,” Arm-
strong said of the fi fth-in-
ning barrage. “It was
momentum building, one
1429 Adams Ave
La Grande, OR
541-962-7557
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Suzie Collman/Contributed Photo
La Grande’s Braden Carson (16) celebrates after scoring during
the Tigers’ 10-1 win over Hidden Valley in the OSAA Class 4A state
championship game on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in Keizer. La Grande
fi nished the season with a 28-1 record en route to the program’s third
state title.
piece at a time.”
Schow iced the win with
a solo home run to lead off
the sixth.
“The game is so much
about momentum,”
McKinley said. “When you
get it going in your direc-
tion, special things can
happen.”
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