Pitching gem carries Buffs to victory

Sophomore Bentley Stockton pitched a two-hit shutout on the road at Estacada Wednesday keying a 1-0 Madras White Buffalo victory.

Stockton spread out the two hits, stranding four Ranger baserunners. For the Buffalos, Tyler Clarkson got a fourth-inning RBI, scoring Noah Vibbert. That was all the Buffs needed to get the Tri-Valley Conference win.

The win kept the Buffalos' hope for a third-place finish in league and a state postseason game fully alive. It was also the first of three one-run games in league that Madras was able to come out on top. The Buffs moved to 2-6, Gladstone is now 3-5, Molalla is 4-4 and The Dalles and Crook County both 7-1. Estacada is 1-7. Each team has seven games left to play.

Stockton struck out four on the day and walked only two. The Buffs played errorless ball behind him.

The Buffalos knocked out eight hits, all singles except a double by Pablo Solis, who got two hits overall.

The Buffs hope to make it a two-game win streak and crawl closer to third place when they host Gladstone Thursday at 4 p.m.