Mac Baseball: Bears battle heat, split first two of Arizona invitational

March 20

McMinnville 9

West Point 7

The Grizzlies (2-1) found themselves in the desert for the first of four games in the greater area of Phoenix, Arizona, over the weekend for the Coach Bob National Invitational. Able to break away in the cool of the night from a heat wave sweeping across the Valley of the Sun, Mac was tested against the West Point Dragons, an Arizona Interscholastic Association Class 6A school.

Both teams' bats were as hot as the weather, scoring 12 combined runs over the two innings.

Mac opened with a five-run first, and the Dragons responded with their own. Each team scored one in the second, leading to a momentary hiatus before West Point tacked on another in the fourth inning for a 7-6 lead.

The final three innings of baseball went in Mac’s favor thanks to strong outings from junior Sam Steele and sophomore Zac Sabey. Steele entered in the fifth and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings while surrendering two hits. Steele earned the win as senior Grant Yochum put the Grizzlies ahead in the top of the sixth with a two-RBI line drive into center field to score Tyler Brummitt from third base and Aaron Rolfe from second.

Sabey entered in the bottom of the sixth and threw the final 1 2/3 innings while striking out four to earn the save in his first appearance of the season, while working back from a back issue.

“He was lights out, and that was great to see,” Head Coach Todd Peterson said.

At the plate, Yochum went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Brummitt was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Senior AJ Morrison also came up in the clutch with a triple and a run scored.

Most Arizona teams are further into the season than their Oregon counterparts. While the Grizzlies were on game No. 3, the Dragons were playing game No. 9, which made for a stark contrast in everybody’s preparedness, according to Peterson.

“They've been playing longer than we have, and even in the first two games, there were some early-season mistakes on our part,” Peterson said. “There are guys who haven't had a chance to play certain positions, who haven't fully gotten up to speed yet on just little details of the game. You can tell the Arizona schools have been playing for longer. They're just a little bit sharper with those details.”

March 21

McMinnville 4

Highland 5

On Saturday, record-breaking spring heats swept across the desert as the Grizzlies faced triple digits while taking on the 6A Highland Hawks of Gilbert, Arizona.

Scoring came at a premium in the daytime proceedings, and Mac’s improving feel for the field showed as defensive errors proved costly in a one-run difference.

The Grizzlies trailed 1-0 early, but a Brummitt double and Cam Hyder single in the top of the third allowed Rolfe a chance to tie with a sacrifice fly. In the fifth, Hyder smacked a single to left field, scoring Bradley Woodward after he’d led off the inning with a base hit.

Mac led 2-1 before the Hawks tied in the bottom half and took a 5-2 lead with three runs in the sixth inning.

In the seventh, the Grizzlies found two-out magic in the form of a Brummitt single and Hyder blast to the opposite field. The right-handed hitter worked ahead in the count, 2-1, before sneaking the ball over the near 15-foot walls at Highland High School. Unfortunately, it was all Mac could achieve before falling.

On the mound, Rolfe threw five innings against the Hawks, surrendering eight hits, two walks and one earned run while tallying four strikeouts. Karson Vining and Hayes Wrigley pitched the sixth, where all three Hawk runs rang up as unearned via errors.

Despite the loss, Peterson was pleased with his team's performance in the 102-degree Gilbert heat.

“I was just proud of the way they battled,” Peterson said. “A couple of miscues defensively were really the difference in the game, but Aaron was phenomenal. He just kept their hitters off balance, had a great feel for the change-up and curveball, and just did a great job throwing strikes.”

Mac faces two Colorado-based schools in Bear Creek and Heritage on Monday and Tuesday before seeing their first home game of the season on Tuesday, March 31, at 4:30 p.m. versus Lakeridge.