A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022
SPORTS
BAKER BASEBALL ADVANCES TO CLASS 4A PLAYOFFS
Baker rallies to nip Estacada
Freshman Jaxon
Logsdon has
game-winning hit
in eighth inning
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
When the ball plinked off
Jaxon Logsdon’s bat, Baker
baseball coach Tim Smith was
sure the Bulldogs had a good
chance to win the game.
Smith just didn’t think they
would win it so quickly.
Logsdon’s smash to the fence
in left centerfield drove home
Hudson Spike and Hayden
Younger to tie the score at 8
in the bottom of the eighth
inning in a Class 4A play-in
game against Estacada on Sat-
urday afternoon, May 21, at
the Baker Sports Complex.
A throwing error on the
relay allowed Logsdon, who
would otherwise have had to
settle for a triple, to race home
and score the winning run.
It was a thrilling conclusion to
Baker’s final home game of 2022.
The Bulldogs, by virtue of
their 9-8 come-from-behind
win, will travel to Grants Pass
to take on second-ranked Hid-
den Valley in a first round
playoff game on Wednesday,
May 25 at 4 p.m.
Estacada 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 3 — 8
Baker
4 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 — 9
Johnson, Riedel (7) and Olsen.
Capon, Carter (6), Spike (8) and
Logsdon.
Baker, which improved to 16-
11, seemed ready to advance to
the playoffs relatively easily af-
ter scoring four runs in the first
inning against Estacada.
“We came out and hit the ball
well,” Smith said.
Cody Skidgel had a two-run
single, and Connor Chastain
and Kai Ogan each had an RBI
in the first.
But Baker couldn’t maintain
the offensive momentum.
“I think we got a little com-
placent when we put four on
the board,” Smith said.
Baker went scoreless from the
second through fifth innings.
Baker starting pitcher Logan
Capon kept Estacada off the
board through three innings,
but the Rangers scored two runs
in the top of the fourth, and two
more in the top of the fifth to tie
the score at 4.
Baker regained the lead at 5-4
on Logsdon’s RBI single in the
bottom of the sixth, but Estacada
scored a run in the top of the
seventh, then held Baker score-
less to force an extra inning.
Which started badly for Baker.
Estacada plated three runs
in the top of the eighth to lead
8-5 and move Baker’s season to
the brink.
Smith said he was ready with
a brief motivational speech be-
fore Baker went to bat in the bot-
tom of the eighth, but it turned
out he didn’t really need it.
“I said we can roll over or
we can fight to the end,” Smith
said. “But the boys got them-
selves all fired up.”
Thomas Smithson led off
by reaching first base on a
dropped third strike.
Silas Carter followed by
reaching on an outfield error,
and Baker had runners at first
and second with no outs.
“We capitalized on a couple
of their miscues,” Smith said.
Hayden Younger grounded
into a fielder’s choice, with Smith-
son forced out at third, leaving
Baker with runners at first and
second, this time with one out.
Spike doubled to center,
driving in Carter, cutting Es-
tacada’s lead to 8-6 and giving
the Bulldogs runners at second
and third with one out.
That brought up Logsdon, a
freshman.
Despite his youth, Smith said
Logsdon is “the guy that we
would want in that situation. It
couldn’t have worked out better.”
After two straight balls,
Logsdon took a strike and
then fouled off a pitch for a
second strike. After another
foul ball, Logsdon watched
a pitch go for a third ball to
make it a full count.
Smith said Logsdon told him
after the game that he expected
Estacada pitcher Andrew Rie-
del would throw a fastball.
Logsdon was right.
“He just crushed that ball,”
Smith said. “It was a laser.”
Logsdon said he anticipated
a fastball because Riedel had
thrown curveballs earlier in
the at-bat and struggled to get
that pitch across the plate.
Logsdon said he knew Riedel
wouldn’t want to walk him and
load the bases with one out.
When he made contact,
Logsdon said he was certain
the ball would get to the wall
and allow Spike and Younger
to score and tie the game.
Logsdon said he also was de-
termined to try for a triple, fig-
uring it was worth a risk, with
one out, to potentially advance
to third where a sacrifice fly
would win the game.
As he slid headfirst into
third, Logsdon said he saw that
the Estacada third baseman,
rather than waiting to tag him,
was instead running for the
fence near the Baker dugout.
“Everybody was screaming
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Jaxon Logsdon rounds first base during the Bulldogs’ dou-
bleheader sweep of Ontario on Friday, April 15, 2022, at the Sports
Complex. Logsdon had the game-winning hit in the Bulldogs’ 9-8
come-from-behind win over Estacada in a Class 4A play-in game on
Saturday, May 21, 2022.
and I just decided to go for
home,” Logsdon said.
He scored easily, and the
game was over.
Smith said he knew Spike
and Younger would score on
Logsdon’s smash.
He figured Logsdon would
end up at second or third, leav-
ing Baker with “work still to
do” to win the game.
But the errant relay throw to
third made that unnecessary.
Smith said that although he
was disappointed with a few
Baker errors that contributed
to Estacada taking the lead, he
was happy with the Bulldogs’
resilience.
“They did an outstanding
job of rallying,” Smith said.
“They showed a lot of perse-
verance and grit.”
Logsdon said the Bulldogs
were determined to not let their
season end at home, especially af-
ter having twice led Estacada.
“We just stayed motivated,”
he said. “We had so many
things to motivate us to want
to win that game.”
Now the Bulldogs face the
daunting challenge of Hidden
Valley, a team Smith compares
with La Grande, which has
shut out 12 straight opponents,
including four wins over Baker.
“It’s going to be a test,” Smith
said. “I don’t think they’re any
better than La Grande. We
will compete. They know what
we’re up against.”
The winner of Wednes-
day’s game at Hidden Valley
will advance to the Class 4A
quarterfinals.
BAKER SOFTBALL HOSTS PHILOMATH IN PLAY-IN GAME
Bulldogs earn their first playoff berth in 4 years
Baker scores 11 runs in the fifth,
then holds off a late Philomath rally
Cuzick struck out 13 bat-
ters and had just two walks.
Both teams started strong,
with Philomath (10-14 over-
they fought for this win,” Baker all) scoring two runs in the
BY IAN CRAWFORD
coach Sonny Gulick said about top of the first, and Baker an-
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
swering with three runs in the
the win over Philomath. “I
Baker’s softball season has
bottom of the inning.
look forward to our next op-
seen its share of big innings,
Leadoff batter Kiley Jo Al-
portunity at Marist.”
and the Bulldogs had their
drich was hit by a pitch, and
After Baker’s offensive ex-
most important inning of the
Brooklyn Rayl, who went 4
season to take a 14-13 win over plosion in the fifth turned an
for 4 with three RBIs, fol-
8-3 deficit into a 14-8 lead,
Philomath in a thrilling Class
the Bulldogs had to hold on as lowed with a single that
4A play-in game under the
lights on Friday, May 20, at the Philomath rallied in the top of scored Aldrich, who had sto-
len second and advanced to
the seventh.
Baker Sports Complex.
third on a wild pitch.
The Warriors scored five
Baker scored 11 of its 14
Makayla Rabourne dou-
runs in the bottom of the fifth, runs to cut the lead to 14-13,
then held off a last-inning rally and had a runner on first with bled to move Rayl to third,
and Rayl scored on Cuzick’s
one out, but Baker pitcher
from the Warriors.
groundout. Rabourne later
The Bulldogs (9-13 overall) Kaycee Cuzick, who threw a
advanced to the first round of complete game, struck out the scored on a wild pitch to give
Baker a 3-2 lead.
final two batters to preserve
the playoffs for the first time
“The game started as I ex-
since 2018. They will travel to the win.
“It is hard to close out teams pected,” Gulick said. “I fig-
Eugene to take on top-ranked
in the playoffs and the nerves ured each team would score a
Marist Catholic Wednesday,
few early as the girls worked
got to us a bit,” Gulick said.
May 25 at 5 p.m.
through their playoff nerves.”
“We found a way to finish
The Spartans are 22-3 on
Philomath quickly re-
them off. Cuzick and (Kaci)
the season and went 15-0 in
Anderson were great pitching gained the lead at 4-3 after
league play.
two innings, and the War-
“I am so proud of how hard and catching.”
riors extended the advantage
to 8-3 with three runs in the
top of the fifth.
But then the “scoring
floodgates opened for us,”
Gulick said.
Baker sent 15 batters to
the plate during the bottom
of the fifth. The Bulldogs
did most of the damage with
two outs.
Rayl led off with a single.
After a strikeout, Cuzick and
Kaci Anderson both walked
to load the bases. Candace
Peterson singled to score two
runs, and Baker trailed 8-5.
“Candace’s hit gave us a
great momentum boost,” Gu-
lick said.
Although Peterson was
thrown out trying to steal
third for the second out,
Baker continued to put pres-
sure on the Warriors.
After Baker scored another
run on an error, Te’ygan Coley
and Ashlyn Dalton hit consec-
utive doubles, with Dalton’s
hit scoring Coley to cut Philo-
math’s lead to 8-7.
Emrie Osborn and Aldrich
drew consecutive walks to load
the bases again. Rayl hit a two-
run single to give Baker the
lead at 9-8.
Philomath 2 2 0 1 3 0 5 — 13
Baker
3 0 0 0 11 0 x — 14
Hiner, Hunter (6) and Kohler.
Cuzick and K. Anderson.
Baker took advantage of a
Philomath error to extend its
lead to 11-8, and Cuzick and
Kaci Anderson each had an
RBI single to push the lead
to 13-8.
Baker wrapped up the in-
ning by scoring one more run
on an error.
Cuzick and Peterson each
had two RBIs.
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