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Newberg hires volleyball coach
Chehalem boys take second at tourney
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Miscues cost Tigers win |
American Legion baseball team struggles in the fifth
and sixth innings Wednesday and loses 9-5 to Forest Grove |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
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The Abby’s American Legion AAA
baseball team got off to a rough start and ended Wednesday’s game
with a 9-5 home loss to Forest Grove.
The Vikings scored two runs apiece in the first three innings,
helped by four errors by the Tigers in the first two innings. Abby’s
assistant coach David Case, taking over while head coach Frank
Baumholtz was away on vacation, said the Tigers can’t afford to have
starts like they did Wednesday.
“We can’t
give away runs at the beginning of games and that’s what we’ve done
the past three games,” he said. “We just have to get better at that
and come out focused better. We have some confidence so we think we
can come back from that and that’s good, but we have to make sure we
start from the very beginning.”
The Tigers rebounded in the bottom of the first inning to score
four runs with two outs, thanks in part to a two-RBI double to
center field by Spencer Hales, an RBI single to left field by Evan
Windsor and an RBI double to center field by Ryan Myers.
The Vikings took a 6-5 lead into the fifth inning when the Tigers
seemed poised to tie the game. Hales singled to lead the inning off,
but Tyler Church bunted out to the pitcher, who threw to first base
for the double play. Myers then flied out to end the inning.
“That was a momentum-sucker,” Case said. “That really hurt and kind
of took the wind out of our sails. We have to learn how to battle
back from that adversity, though. I’m still confident we can do
that, though.”
In the sixth, the Vikings put the game away. Hales took over for
starter Matt Twenge and gave up a single, a double and then hit the
next two batters. Trent Boston took over for Hales on the mound and
was called for a balk before his first pitch to score a run for the
Vikings. Forest Grove scored another run later in the inning and
took its 9-5 lead into the final two innings. Abby’s put one runner
on base the rest of the game.
The Tigers finished with 12 hits in the loss. Hales was 2 for 2
with two RBI and Mitchell Sturdevant was 3 for 4. Myers was 2 for 3
with a pair of RBI.
“We’re still hitting the ball well, so that’s nice, but we’ve just
got to tighten up the defense,” Case said.
The Tigers travel to Corvallis this weekend to compete in the 2007
Star Spangled Banner Tournament at Corvallis High School. |
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From
June 30, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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