UCC baseball completes season sweep of Mt. Hood
GRESHAM — The Umpqua Riverhawks finished off a series win against the Mt. Hood Saints with a doubleheader sweep on Friday at Oslund Field.
Umpqua led wire-to-wire for a 4-2 win in the opener and outlasted Mt. Hood for a 3-2 win in extra innings to finish off the twin bill. UCC won four consecutive against the Saints over two days in Gresham and took all six games this season against Mt. Hood.
The Riverhawks extended their lead for second place in the NWAC South Region standings to 1.5 games, but the race for the postseason remains tight with 12 games left to play.
Umpqua (17-17, 14-10 South Region) got the upperhand in Game 1 with a pair of runs in the first inning. Tristan Schaefer walked to lead off the game, Zane Bidwell was hit by a pitch and Payton Smith drew a one out walk to load the bases.
Noah Cox gave UCC a 2-0 lead with a single to center field.
The Riverhawks added a run in the third on a single by Ryson Wa’alani and another run in the fourth on a single by Schaefer.
Starting pitcher Teague Van Dyke received plenty of support as the Riverhawks had nine hits in the contest. Cox, Wa’alani and Carson Dunn all had two hits.
Van Dyke went deep into the nine-inning contest. He pitched seven scoreless frames before allowing two runs in the eighth inning. A passed ball brought home the first run for Mt. Hood and a two-out single brought home another.
Brevin Harrison entered and shut down the Saints’ comeback efforts. He struck out two and allowed just one hit over the final 1 1/3 innings to earn his third save. Van Dyke got the win, his first of the season, allowing six hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.
The nightcap went down to the wire after both teams notched a run early in the game.
Umpqua took a 1-0 lead on a Smith sacrifice fly in the first, but Mt. Hood tied the game in the third on a sac fly by Cade Wynn.
UCC retook the lead with a solo home run by Porter Strother in the top of the seventh and needed just three outs in the bottom half of the inning to secure the win.
Starting pitcher AJ Victoravich was able to get two outs after a leadoff single, but Zach Blair came through with an RBI bunt to tie the game and force an extra inning.
Aidan O’Malley started the eighth with a single and moved around the diamond on a sacrifice bunt and a flyout. Once again, Cox came through with a clutch hit and drove in O’Malley to put the ‘Hawks in front.
Victoravich wrapped up a complete-game victory with a perfect home half of the eighth. He allowed eight hits with two strikeouts.
Cox and Schaefer both were 3-for-8 to lead the Riverhawks at bat during the doubleheader. Cox had a combined three RBI’s for the day.
Kyle Slater led Mt. Hood with a combined 3-for-8 day. Aaron Henry had a double and a triple between the two games for the Saints.
The Umpqua Riverhawks welcome the Lane Titans to Champion Car Wash Field for a South Region doubleheader starting at noon on Thursday.
First Game
Umpqua;201;100;000;—;4;9;1
Mt. Hood;000;000;020;—;2;7;1
Van Dyke, Harrison (8) and Robbins; Waples, Kingsbury (7) and Allen. W — Van Dyke (1-4). L — Waples (2-6). SV — Harrison (3). 2B — Dunn (UCC), Henry (MHCC).
Second Game
Umpqua;100;000;11;—;3;6;0
Mt. Hood;001;000;10;—2;8;1
Victoravich and Strother; McCormack, Trujilo (8) and Kumagami. W — Victoravich (2-0). L — Trujilo (1-5). 2B — Richards (MHCC). 3B — Schaefer (UCC), Henry (MHCC). HR — Strother (UCC).
