CLACKAMAS — In a battle of sophomore pitchers, the Clackamas Cavaliers topped the Roseburg High baseball team 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the OSAA class 6A state playoffs on Friday.
Roseburg’s Garrett Zeimet and Clackamas’ Kaiden Miller squared off in a battle of underclassmen.
Miller earned the win to advance the Cavaliers into the semifinals. The right-hander allowed six hits and two runs over six innings of work. He also struck out five while walking two.
“I thought Kaiden Miller did a good job for them. Kept us off balance. Threw a couple pitches for strikes and did a good job being around the zone,” said Roseburg coach Troy Thompson.
Zeimet went 5 ⅓ innings and allowed six runs on 11 hits. He walked one and struck out one.
“I thought Garrett competed very well,” Thompson added. “He was able to mix some pitches in and get some very good hitters out. I espeically like the fact that he didn’t come in and seem overwhelmed by the moment.”
Clackamas (23-7) was held scoreless through the first two innings, but got on the scoreboard against Zeimet in the third on a single by Nathan Vaughn. The Cavaliers added another run on a single by Jackson Jaha and made it 3-0 on a double by Nick Vaughn.
The Cavaliers stretched the lead to 5-0 in the fourth on a two-run homer by senior Grant Schoen.
Jonathan Stone responded to the long ball with one of his own in the fifth inning. The senior launched a solo shot over the left field fence to get Roseburg (17-7) on the board.
Doran Gillespie made it a 5-2 score in the fifth with his first hit of the postseason.
Clackamas tacked on a final run in the sixth on a sacrifice bunt. Roseburg got two runners on base in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t muster any runs against Schoen, who came in to earn a save.
“You’ve got to credit Clackamas,” coach Thompson admited. “They did a good job at the plate with two outs and two strikes, stringing a couple of hits together there.”
Thompson also credited his own team, who didn’t show a lack of effort after falling behind by five early on.
“There was no hesitation from our dugout and our kids. They’re going to play hard and they did a good job with that today,” Thompson said. “Ultimately, I think that’s one of the things I’m most proud of of this team throughout the year.”
Six Roseburg hitters finished with a hit. Gillespie and Stone had the only RBIs for the Tribe.
Clackamas finished with four extra base hits. Freshman Jackson Jaha led the Cavaliers with a 3-for-3 day, adding an RBI and a run scored. Grant Schoen and Brody Upton each added two hits for Clackamas.
Roseburg graduates five seniors from this year’s roster, including conference player of the year Zack Mandera. Fellow seniors were Jonathan Stone, Mason Littlefield, Ethan Gartner and Ryley Culberhouse.
Clackamas moves on to face Central Catholic in the semifinals on Tuesday.
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Clackamas;003;201;x;—;6;11;0
Zeimet, Anderson (6) and Six; Miller, Schoen (7) and Upton. WP — Miller. LP — Zeimet, 2-2. S — Schoen. 2B — Upton (C), Nick Vaugh (C). 3B — Claxton (C). HR — Schoen (C), Stone (R).
