By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.–  Blanchet’s Drew Bartels came out firing in his first pitching outing in about three weeks Wednesday afternoon to start the Cavaliers doubleheader with Kennedy at Blanchet.

Bartels went the distance, pitching all five-innings in Blanchet’s 10-0 win over the Trojans.  All the while, surrendering just one hit in the process and striking out six.  Stiff back was no issue for the Cavs junior as he also contributed three hits and 2RBI’s in the pair of games.

“It was really good to see in my first start, I think in three weeks, to throw that well.  I had some back issues, I took a break until this series, we knew how big of a series this one is.  I got healthy for the series and got the job done,” Bartels said.  “We now know that we got league secured for first, now we’re getting ready for playoffs.  We’re gearing up and getting ready for the playoffs.”

The momentum carried over to the second game for Blanchet.  After surrendering two runs in the top half of the first inning, the Cavaliers evened it up at two going into the second inning.  From there, the defense locked in for Blanchet as they only allowed one more Kennedy run to score over the course of the remaining five innings of the six-inning, 13-3 victory.

There was a sense of redemption after the State Championship game as those two first inning runs on their end sparked the following 13 runs.  Closing out not just the doubleheader sweep, but locked up the regular season title out of the 2A/1A Special District 2 Title. 

Now with one more game with Kennedy Friday in Mount Angel and a game with Sisters this next Wednesday, it’s a matter of building momentum for the 2A/1A postseason.

“Ever since the beginning of the season, we had them on the calendar.  All offseason we’ve been working up to this game.    We just got to come out firing so we can be locked in for the playoffs,” said Dylan Cuff. “(Energy) will help us with momentum and to carry it into the postseason.”

For Kennedy, with their young roster, it was a good measuring stick to see where they’re at.  Friday will be a chance for them to respond and rise to the occasion against Blanchet Friday with East Linn Christian and  Umpqua Valley Christian next week to close out the regular season.  There’s still a lot of ball left in front of them, it’s just piecing it all together and cleaning up the little things.

“They’re big games, we told them it’s not make-or-break on the season.  That’s a good ball club for sure, they’re ultra-talent,” said Kennedy Head Coach Kevin Moffat.  “I thought our guys, for most of the day, competed well.  We got loose a couple of times and hung our heads because we’re not used to getting beat like that, so it’s a natural reaction.  But I thought for the most part, we played ok, we had good at-bats in the first game against the hardest thrower we’ve seen.  We’ve got a lot of balls that were just out of reach of our guys, they made some nice plays and threw a couple of guys out at the plate.”

Rylee Walker contributed two hits with 2RBI’s and Brody Kleinschmit also collected two hits in the doubleheader for the Trojans.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald