Down 2-1 going to the bottom of the seventh, No. 8 Tualatin High School baseball’s season was on the line in the second round of the 6A state tournament against No. 9 Central Catholic.
The Rams scored their two runs in the first and third innings to hold the lead for most of the evening while the Timberwolves were scattering hits across innings.
With their backs against the wall, Tualatin got the bottom of the seventh started with a walk from Noah Oistad.
Brayden Buck tried to sacrifice bunt behind him, but popped the ball up in foul territory and was caught by Rams third baseman Aidan Rice. However, with Rice sprinting foul for the catch, he ended up slipping in the on-deck circle and Oistad still moved over to second base.
After two balls, Rams head coach Justin Barchus decided to walk Tualatin leadoff man Ervin Dorsett to set up a potential double play with one out and runners on second and first.
Instead, a passed ball moved the runners up one bag, putting the game-winning run in scoring position.
De’Quan Duncan was next for Tualatin, and he hit a grounder to first where Rams junior Wyatt Brown was playing short and threw the ball home.
Oistad slid around the tag at the plate and was called safe to tie the game at two.
Barchus intentionally walked Isaac Pfeifer next to load the bases with two outs. Up next was Glen Maduro III, who was 0-for-2 on the day as the Timberwolves clean up hitter.
On the first pitch he saw, Maduro muscled a ball up the middle that led to a force out at second, but Maduro hustled down the line and just barely beat out the throw to first to break up the double play, plate the winning run and send Tualatin into the quarterfinals with a 3-2 win.
“Bases loaded, one out, tie game. I was just trying to do my job,” Maduro said. “Put the ball in play somewhere hard. It was end cap, but it got the job done.”
“We walked the leadoff guy and then we fall down over there on their on-deck mat on the bump play that we catch and we get a bad break like that,” Barchus said. “But we had our chances in the seventh inning too to get them out. Just didn’t come through and a couple close plays went the other way and that’s the way the game goes.”
Central Catholic got the party started by being patient at the plate against Timberwolves starter Isaac Pfeifer, their normal starting catcher who was making his first start of the season on the bump.
The Rams took advantage of four walks and a couple passed balls to plate a run and go up 1-0 out of the gates.
Tualatin got it back in the second though when Maddox Brown legged out an infield single and was brought around thanks to a balk, wild pitch and then a ground out from Oistad.
Central Catholic came right back with a single from Wyatt Brown to start the third, and he got to third thanks to a stolen base and then a passed ball.
Joey Mattecheck came in to pitch for Tualatin, but he gave up a single to Gavin Dunn that brought home the run to make it 2-1.
While Mattecheck needed a couple batters to get into the swing of things, he was lights out after the third inning. The senior went the rest of the way, pitching five innings and giving up only three hits, no runs and picking up four strikeouts, all looking.
“I had my changeup working well today, just trying to mix it in and keep them off balance,” Mattecheck said. “Throw strikes, don’t give up too many free passes, that’s what I was trying to do out there.”
On the other side, Cameron Ames was dealing for the Rams, giving up only five hits in his 5.2 innings pitched with three strikeouts.
Ames consistently got ground ball outs to shortstop Ryan Davis, and if it wasn’t Davis the rest of the Rams defense certainly played their part.
“He’s been a bulldog all year for us, he’s fiery out there,” Barchus said of Ames. “That’s a really good offensive lineup, that’s one of the best offensive lineups in the state. He was pounding the zone effective, didn’t give free bases, battled with guys on base. That’s what seniors are supposed to do and he was definitely a big piece for us today.”
Despite Ames dealing, Tualatin never went down too quietly, and when it finally saw an opening in the seventh, it pounced like a wolf on its prey.
“They competed the whole game, that’s a great team over there in Central, they pitched great today,” Tualatin head coach Jacob Austin said. “We just kept grinding. We didn’t get it done early, but late. We got our leadoff on and the guys responded and had some quality at bats in the last inning.”
For a team with 16 seniors on its roster, it’s no surprise Tualatin wasn’t going to give up until the final out.
With Maduro and Mattecheck being two of those 16, them coming through when needed most was a display of what seniors provide in the playoffs.
“Joey came in and was lights out, he pitched his guts out and I couldn’t be more impressed with the way he competed tonight,” Austin said. “(Maduro) has been a big boost for us offensively in the second half season. He’s found holes all year and found a way to get it done. And as you can see, he runs pretty well for a big guy.”
For the Rams’ side, it’s the end of the preps road for their seven seniors in Ames, Cade Gehlen, Grant McKey, Andrew Kralj, Gavin Dunn, Spencer Marron and Langston Kaptur.
The 2024 class was Barchus’ first group he’s had for a full four years, despite COVID-19 messing up their freshman season.
“Those guys are going to be remembered, I talked to them in the huddle about setting the base and the standard for everything we’re going to achieve over the next five to 10 years,” Barchus said. “They did a fantastic job of showing up and leading every day this year. Huge credit to them, we’ll miss all of them and they should be really proud of their effort today.”
Up next for Tualatin is a familiar foe in league rival No. 1 West Linn.
The two-time defending champion Lions dominated the league series with Tualatin, winning all three games by a score of 10-0, 3-2 and 18-6.
The Timberwolves certainly haven’t forgotten about that series, and with another clutch playoff performance under their belt, they’re ready to make their loudest surprise yet.
“We’re ready,” Maduro said. “They beat us pretty bad during the series, but we’re coming for them on Friday. Should be a great game.”
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