Logger baseball pulled out a pair of wins and a pair of losses in two back-to-back double header games last weekend against Whitworth Pirates.
“We shook off some early season rust and managed to win a couple of games in the process. We have more depth this year than in years past and this allows us to have somebody to count on for any situation. This confidence is going to allow us to win a lot of games and be very competitive as the season progresses,” junior infielder Will Mentor (Seattle, Wash.) said.
The Loggers dominated the first game of the four game weekend with an impressive 10-3 win over Whitworth. The Pirates made an early run during the first inning; however, they were dominated by Logger’s offense during the rest of the game.
Senior infielder Dakota Resnik (Bellevue, Wash.), junior outfielder Casey Coberly (Boise, Idaho) and senior outfielder Chaz Kramer (Boulder, Colo.) led the team by each hitting two RBIs. Coberly and Kramer each got three hits as well. Sophomore pitcher, Matt Robinson (Lafayette, Calif.), was the hero of the game. He single-handedly shut down the Pirates by striking out nine batters, walking one and only allowing three runs while pitching the entire game.
“We showed what we can do offensively this weekend and we did a lot of really good things in terms of manufacturing runs. We know we can go out there and compete everyday with the best teams in the conference, but we need to tighten up the defense as a whole. It’s the first series of the year and we’ll keep getting better every week. I’m excited to see what this team can do,” Robinson said.
Saturday’s second game ended in a heartbreaking 11-10 loss for the Loggers. Both teams intensified their offensive play. Despite the Loggers’ loss, they played an amazing game. Resnik and junior outfielder Matt Cox (Salem, Ore.) led the team with three stolen bases each out of the eight total team steals. Cox and Coberly hit the first two home runs of the year as well. Cox added to his amazing night with five RBIs. Resnik doubled in the second inning and became the all-time doubles leader in Logger history.
In the first inning both teams scored three runs. The Loggers’ three runs came from one mighty hit from Cox. In the second inning the Loggers took the lead with three runs while the Pirates only managed to pull out one. The game stayed tied in a back and forth series of runs throughout the next five innings. The seventh inning ended in a nail biting 10-10 tie. The Pirates scored one more run in the eighth to end the game 11-10.
Despite Sunday’s beautiful weather, the Loggers got off to a rocky start. Eight Logger errors and Whitworth’s unrelenting barrage of runs led the Loggers to an 11-4 loss.
Whitworth scored four unanswered runs in the first inning and it wasn’t until after the sixth inning that the Loggers had closed the gap with four runs. Whitworth didn’t allow the Loggers to make up any more ground; they scored seven more runs by the end of the game.
“Offensively we put some things together but if we want to reach our goals as a team we are going to have to play defense more consistently,” Resnik concluded.
The Loggers came out psyched and ready for the last game of the weekend series. This energy led them to a 10-6 victory over Whitworth. They took charge in the first inning with three runs followed by two more in the second and three in the third. Coberly got three RBI’s and Cox stroked two doubles. Down 8-1, Whitworth didn’t want to accept defeat. They made a comeback in the fourth inning with five runs. Thankfully, freshman pitcher Tad Finnie entered the game and didn’t allow the Pirates to advance any further. Freshman pitcher Jeff Walton (Carmichael, Calif.) then came in and pitched three shutout innings. The Loggers scored two more runs at the end of the game to insure the win.
Cox summed up the weekend’s games by concluding, “This weekend showed something about the kind of talent we have but it also showed that we are inconsistent right now so the talent really means nothing if we aren’t consistently winning instead of splitting series. The big thing is for us to get better and be ready for the league season to start. We play Whitworth in a league series three weeks from now and I think we all have the attitude that we should be good enough to sweep them the next time around.”