A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2022
SPORTS
BAKER BASEBALL PLAYS FIRST HOME GAME
Bulldogs hold off Homedale, 8-6
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
The Baker baseball team
used two big innings on of-
fense early, and solid relief
pitching and defense late, to
hold off the Homedale Tro-
jans 8-6 in the Bulldogs’ home
opener on a chilly and windy
Wednesday evening, March 30,
at the Sports Complex.
After spotting Homedale a
1-0 lead, the Bulldogs scored
four times in the bottom of the
first and never trailed again.
Baker improved to 4-3-1.
“I thought we hit the ball re-
ally well in the first half of the
game,” Baker coach Tim Smith
said. “It was definitely an im-
provement at the plate for us.”
The Bulldogs focused on that
part of the game after scoring
just three runs in two straight
losses to close out their trip to
Arizona during spring break.
Trailing 1-0 after a half inning,
Baker batted through its entire
lineup in the bottom of the first.
With one out, Jaxon Logs-
don doubled to left, scoring
Hudson Spike.
The Bulldogs scored the rest
of their runs in the inning with
two outs.
Logan Capon doubled to
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald left, scoring Thomas Smithson.
Baker third baseman Logan Capon, left, fields a ground ball while
Connor Chastain then
pitcher Silas Carter looks on during the Bulldogs’ 8-6 win over Homedale, rapped a single to right, bring-
ing home Capon and Cole
Idaho, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at the Baker Sports Complex.
Hester, who had walked.
Although Baker led almost
the entire game, the outcome
remained somewhat in doubt
throughout.
The Trojans scored two runs
in the top of the second to cut
Baker’s lead to 4-3.
Baker got one run back in
the third, but Homedale scored
again with two outs in the top
of the fourth to trim the deficit
to a single run again, 5-4.
Chastain relieved Baker
starting pitcher Silas Carter to
start the fourth, and Chastain
sandwiched a strikeout and
a popout around a walk to
Jayden Wutherich.
After a walk to D’Orr Packer
that moved Wutherich to sec-
ond, Sigmund Goode hit a
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald ground ball that didn’t have a
lot of speed but found a gap.
Silas Carter went three innings and earned the win in Baker’s 8-6 win
Second baseman Hester, who
over Homedale, Idaho, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at the Baker
was shading toward second
Sports Complex.
Homedale 1 2 0 1 0 2 0 — 6
Baker
4 0 1 3 0 0 x — 8
Goode, Liebschwager (2),
Lejardi (4) and Packer. Carter,
Chastain (4), Capon (6), Spike
(7) and Logsdon. WP: Carter.
LP: Goode.
2B: Logsdon, Capon. 3B:
Carter.
He promptly stole second.
Spike laid down a bunt that
Liebschwager bobbled, allow-
ing Spike to reach first and
Younger to advance to third.
Younger scored on a wild
pitch, and after Logsdon
walked, Cody Skidgel hit a
hard ground ball that bounced
over second base for a single
that scored Spike and boosted
Baker’s lead to 7-4.
Baker scored its final run of
the inning when Liebschwager
tried to pick off Capon, who
had singled. The throw was
wild and Logsdon raced home.
Homedale wasn’t finished,
though.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
The Trojans rallied for two
Hudson Spike runs the bases during Baker’s 8-6 win over Homedale,
runs in the top of the sixth.
But Capon, who relieved
Idaho, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at the Baker Sports Complex.
Chastain in the sixth, and
Spike, who got the final two
outs, held the Trojans score-
less in the seventh.
Smith said he was happy with
Baker’s defense and pitching late
in the game — he just wishes it
hadn’t been quite so necessary
since Baker cooled off on of-
fense, going scoreless in the fifth
and sixth after leading 8-4.
“We just need to put a full
game together, to finish peo-
ple off,” he said.
Baker returned to the road
this weekend, traveling to As-
toria for a doubleheader on
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald Friday, April 1, and a single
game against Seaside on Sat-
Baker’s Logan Capon weighs his options on the basepath between
urday, April 2.
second and third in the first inning of the Bulldogs’ 8-6 win over
Carter was 2 for 3 against
Homedale, Idaho, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at the Baker
Homedale, including an RBI
Sports Complex.
triple on a shot that rolled to
mound, threw out Cody Lieb- the wall in right center in the
base to keep Wutherich from
bottom of the third.
taking a big lead, had to cover a schwager on a ground ball to
Capon was 2 for 3 with an
lot of ground to his left and he end the inning.
The Bulldogs got back the
almost nabbed Goode’s hit be-
RBI, Chastain was 1 for 1 with
lost run — and more — imme- two RBIs and two walks, and
fore it rolled into right field.
diately.
Wutherich scored on the
Logsdon was 1 for 3 with an
Hayden Younger led off the RBI.
single.
bottom of the fourth with a
Carter, who had moved to
Carter earned the win on
third base after his stint on the single down the leftfield line.
the mound.
BAKER TENNIS TEAM OPENS SEASON AT PENDLETON
Bulldog tennis finally
makes it to the courts
Baker City Herald
No other group of Baker
High School spring athletes
had to wait longer to compete
than the tennis team.
But finally, and on the last
day of March, the Bulldogs
took to the courts for some-
thing other than practice.
Baker traveled to Pendleton
to take on the Class 5A Buck-
aroos.
Baker won three of the four
boys singles matches and one
of five girls singles matches.
Pendleton swept all four
doubles matches.
Baker coach Amy Younger
said she was happy to see the
players have a chance to com-
pete against another team
after more than a month of
practices.
And even practicing was a
challenge at times, as players
had to help shovel snow off
the courts at the Ash Grove
tennis complex early in the
season.
“It’s been a little frustrat-
ing,” Younger said of the wait
for the first official matches.
Baker was slated to play at
Four Rivers School in On-
tario in mid March, but the
matches were postponed first
by rain, then by the lack of
buses.
Then a scheduling mis-
hap canceled the Baker boys’
planned matches on Tuesday,
March 29, at La Grande.
Younger said the boys
played well against Pendleton.
Although the Baker girls
didn’t have as much suc-
cess, Younger said she was
pleased with their consistency,
which led to many long ral-
lies and generally competitive
matches.
“Overall they played great,”
Younger said. “It was fun to
see.”
She said the matches at
Pendleton were different than
usual because when play-
ers reached deuce, rather
than playing the “ad” style,
where one player has to win
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Isabel Cunningham hits a volley during her match on
Thursday, March 31, 2022, at Pendleton.
two straight points to claim
the game, there was a sud-
den death format, where the
player who won the first point
after reaching deuce also won
the game.
That shortened the
matches, but it also potentially
cost Baker players a chance to
win games.
Younger said future
matches will use the regu-
lar ad style for deuce games
rather than sudden death.
Baker will return to ac-
tion Monday, April 4, at On-
tario, starting at 3 p.m. The
Bulldogs travel to Mac-Hi on
Thursday, April 7, for matches
starting at 4 p.m.
def. Ben Barhyte, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
Matthew Stansbury and
Miller Johnson (P) def.
Ethan Hills and Jayden
Yencopal, 6-1, 7-6
Elijah Olds and Ben Bar-
hyte (P) def. Weston Down-
ing and Lincoln Nemec, 6-1,
6-3
GIRLS
Singles
Olivia Corbett (P) def.
Sarah Plummer, 6-2, 6-2
Nora Yoshioka (P) def. Isa-
bel Cunningham, 6-4, 6-1
Maya Smith (B) def. Lucy
Oyama, 6-3, 6-4
Emma Coleman (P) def.
Olivia Jacoby, 6-2, 6-3
BOYS
Keri Kenz (P) def. Hannah
Lay, 6-0, 6-0
Singles
Doubles
Daniel Cunningham (B)
Annie Boswick and Tatum
def. Matthew Stansbury, 6-2,
Paulus (P) def. Tristen Tritt
6-4
Tyler Walker (P) def. Caleb and Riley Shaw, 6-1, 6-4
Rachel Walker and Tay-
Hills, 7-5, 6-2
bree Waller (P) def. Camp-
Ashton LeTourneau (B)
def. Miller Johnson, 6-0, 6-4 bell Vanderwiele and Daphne
Thomas, 6-0, 6-1
Anthony Christopher (B)
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