Cowboys lose inside track for league title

It was not the way that the Crook County Cowboys wanted to close out their home baseball season.

Playing on senior night with the league championship on the line, Crook County led for most of the game, but in the end fell to The Dalles, 6-5. It was the second one-run loss that Crook County has suffered at the hands of the Riverhawks. That leaves Crook County and The Dalles both with two league losses, however, the Riverhawks hold the tiebreaker over the Cowboys as they took two of the three head-to-head matchups.

“We fought until the end,” Crook County head coach Steele Bailey said following the game. “We had some tough breaks in there, but the guys ... gave it their all. I am pleased with the fight. A couple of breaks one way or the other and it could have been a different story.”

The Cowboys scored three runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning to take the early lead. With Tyson Martinez seemingly in control on the mound, the Cowboys increased their lead to four with a run in the third inning on a Hayden Forman triple followed by a Riverhawk error.

The Dalles scored their first run of the game in controversial fashion when Martinez was called for a balk with a runner on third. That runner had reached first on an infield single, then gone to second on a on a weak ground ball to the pitcher that led to an out at first. He then went to third on a sacrifice bunt, before scoring on the balk.

Crook County scored in the bottom half of the inning when The Dalles pitcher Avery Schwartz was also called for a balk. The Cowboys had three stolen bases in the inning, but were unable to score any additional runs leaving runners stranded at second and third.

The Dalles took advantage of a couple of breaks and a Crook County error to score four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Austin Cummings reached base on an infield single. The next batter popped out to the catcher. Martinez thought he had struck the next batter out, and began to celebrate only to have the pitch called a ball. The batter eventually walked. A second walk in the inning loaded the bases.

Shortstop Austin Vaughan then fielded a ball near second base and stepped on the bag for the second out of the inning. Vaughan then threw high to first in a play that could have ended the inning. However, first baseman Trenton Tucker was unable to come down with the ball and two runs scored. Schwartz then singled, putting runners on first and second. The runners advanced to second and third on a called strike that catcher Tyis Yustat was unable to catch cleanly. Sam Shaver then hit a ball to left that Vaughan dove for. The ball was momentarily in Vaughan's glove, but popped out when he hit the ground, leading to the final two runs of the inning.

Vaughan replaced Martinez on the mound to start the sixth inning. Martinez left the mound with eight strikeouts while giving up five hits, but he walked five batters. Vaughan also had control problems, walking five in two innings of work, while striking out three. Crook County loaded the bases in the sixth inning, but were unable to score. The Dalles then scored the winning run in the seventh inning on a walk and a wild pitch followed by a single from Schwartz. The Cowboys were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh.

Schwartz pitched five innings for The Dalles, allowing four hits and five runs while striking out six and walking four. Will Booth pitched the remaining two innings for the Riverhawks, walking four and striking out three while not allowing a hit.

With the win, The Dalles improved to 12-2 in conference play and 18-7 overall, while Crook County fell to 11-2 in league and 17-5 overall. Perhaps more importantly, the Riverhawks moved up to seventh in the OSAA power rankings, while Crook County fell to eighth .The Dalles has one game remaining, a a road game at Estacada, which is last in the league standings, while Crook County has a doubleheader at Molalla, 5-8, 10-12. Both league matchups are Friday, May 10.

“We are going over to Molalla to play two and going in with high intensity, because if we win two at Molalla and The Dalles loses to Estacada, we can still win the championship.,” Bailey said. “It's still possible so we are going to go and give it our all at Molalla and let the chips fall where they may. We just need to keep our confidence and know that we are a good team even though we have lost a couple close games, and just build on those losses that we've had and go into the playoffs with a ton of confidence, knowing that we can win it all.”

The Dalles 6, Crook County 5

at Crook County, May 8

The Dalles – 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 – 6 6 3

Crook County – 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 – 5 4 2