Mac baseball serves shutouts at home

Following a high-scoring affair and failed late-inning comeback against Lakeridge (4-5) last week, the McMinnville baseball team rebounded with consecutive shutout victories, defeating Nelson 7-0 on Friday, and Silverton 2-0 on Tuesday.

The Grizzlies (5-3) wasted little time against Nelson (7-2) on Friday, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning to secure an early lead. Two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases to start the inning; setting up junior catcher Drew Bizon to drive in the game’s first run via a base hit into right field.

Senior outfielder Austin Schoof stepped to the plate next, laying down a bunt that the Hawks’ defense could not react to fast enough. The squeeze allowed senior third baseman Kane Sullivan to score and kept the inning alive for more Grizzly runs.

A sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of senior first baseman Brayden Mix and a single from junior Cameron Hyder the next at-bat scored two more runs in the inning.

Hyder helped his own cause at the plate on top of a pitching performance that saw him strike out six Hawks over six and two-thirds innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks while throwing 58 of 97 pitches for strikes.

Head coach Todd Peterson was glad to see Hyder regain his command after giving up four runs and eight walks in his first start of the season against Roseburg. More so, he was impressed Hyder rebounded against a team that had won six straight in non-league play before their loss to Mac.

“It’s really good to see him bounce back and be the guy that we know he can be,” Peterson said. “He commanded the strike zone with three different pitches and kept a really good Nelson team at bay by just mixing pitches and getting ahead in the count early and then letting his defense play behind him.”

The Grizzlies scored three more runs intermittently against the Hawks, driving one runner across the plate in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

A leadoff double by junior Grant Yochum in the bottom of the fourth set the table for the fifth Grizzlies run courtesy of a hard base hit from Mix. Hyder followed with a line drive into left field for his second base knock of the game, but could not come around to score.

Peterson praised Hyder’s 2-for-4 night at the plate with an RBI and shutout performance on the mound, citing his training and work ethic as reasons why he has been able to rebound and be a key piece at the top of the Grizzlies lineup.

“He’s elevated his game in every way possible,” he said. “He gives our offense some firepower and has the ability to drive the ball into the gaps and beat some outfielders. It really helps set the tone at the top of our lineup with him and Mix.”

The Grizzly’s sixth run of the game was timely, as junior infielder AJ Morrison entered the game to bat for Mix in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Morrison drew the count full and blistered a ball on the ground past the Hawks’ shortstop to score Bizon from second base.

The final Grizzly run also came with two outs in the sixth inning. This time it was junior outfielder Aaron Rolfe blasting a ball into right-center field, scoring sophomore outfielder Taylor Carnahan from second.

Every Grizzly batter reached base in the game. Bizon led the way, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Mix was another catalyst, driving in two RBI’s from the leadoff spot in the order. Overall, the top three batters in the lineup were responsible for driving in four of the team’s seven runs.

On Tuesday, the Grizzlies winning effort over Silverton was bolstered by a controlling performance on the mound from junior Tyler Brummitt, who gave the Foxes their first loss of the season.

Brummitt recorded all 21 outs, throwing a complete-game shutout against the 5A OSAA No. 6 team in the state. The junior was steady and threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 25 batters he faced, all while striking out five and allowing only four hits and no walks. Brummitt was also pitching with some soreness related to a calf injury, but battled through and gave the Grizzlies their fifth win on the season.

“I think that was a huge part of his success,” coach Peterson said while describing Brummitt’s mound presence. “He was able to mix his off-speed in effectively, and then our defense behind him played really solid and made all the routine plays. It was good to see Tyler have that performance.”

Peterson said getting ahead in counts and letting the defense work behind their pitcher are key factors that the coaching staff preaches. Consistently making routine plays and having pitchers start ahead make Peterson believe the team will have success if they stay disciplined.

Offensively, the Grizzlies scored early despite a strong pitching performance from Silverton senior Ryne Hockman, who struck out five and allowed two walks, giving up two runs and four hits over six innings pitched.

Mix was responsible for both of Mac’s runs in the game, drawing a walk in his first at-bat and subsequently scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rolfe after stealing second. He then scored the Grizzly’s second run after a two-out double put him in scoring position for Hyder. Hyder’s base hit rolled slowly into shallow left field, but Mix scored easily.

The two win put the Grizzlies back into the Top 10 of OSAA rankings, at No. 9; regardless, Peterson says the team is confident in themselves and their ability to beat any opponent as long as they stay true to their program’s focus on pitching and defense.

Peterson was also impressed with how his team rebounded despite struggles against Lakeridge and Roseburg, admitting their play was uncharacteristic of Grizzly baseball. Now, after two wins against tough opponents, the team is keeping a good mindset and knows they can play at a high level.

“To be able to tame those two offenses who had been scoring a lot of runs and playing at a high level was really good to see,” he said. “That’s the type of baseball that we know we can play and I think it gives our kids confidence knowing that when we throw strikes and make the routine plays offensively we can compete with anybody.”

The Grizzlies played their final non-league game at West Linn (5-3) on Thursday, after News-Register deadline, and will start conference play next week against Newberg, with home games Monday and Friday and a game at Newberg Wednesday. All games start at 5 p.m.