By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

STAYTON, Ore.–  Wednesday’s series finale should be a doozy after how the Salem Withnell Dodgers and the Post 58 Crushers played Tuesday at Regis in their doubleheader.

With how well each team pitched, Post 58 with Caleb Boyles (Cascade) and Nick Frith (Stayton) to the Dodgers Grant Strother (Sprague) and Eli Lowe (Sprague), each game was decided by one inning with each team splitting the twin-bill in Stayton.

“It was good to see that we’re just as good as the other team.  In that first game we just kept it close the whole game and that last inning we just got some hits together…got some runs going and stayed with it the whole game and never let off,” Boyles said.

The Cougar arm dueled with the Olympian’s Strother, Boyles struck out nine in six innings to Strother’s nine in six-and-two-third innings.  But it was in the seventh inning of that first game where the Crushers came to life, scoring three to walk it off against Withnell 3-2.  Regis’ Tanner Manning drove in the game-winning hit.

Game 2 was much of the same, but the Dodgers got their one big break in the second inning when they scored four times as Lowe held Post 58 to a Robbie Brockamp (Silverton) RBI single in the second.

“It was big to flush out that first one and get the right mindset for the second game and I thought we did that.  We put up some runs early in the game, our bats didn’t come alive towards the end but we maintained,” Sprague’s Brandon Stinnett said.  “Eli pitched good.  Maintained those four runs and we only gave up one.  It was a good deal.  Good baseball game.”

Stinnett drove in 2RBI’s in the second game for the Dodgers, who won the second game 4-1.  Lowe struck out eight in five innings while Frith struck out six in five-and-two-third innings pitching to start for the Crushers in Game 2.

Game 3 of the Area 3 series will be at 5pm Wednesday at Scio High School.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald