Mac baseball wins two against Century
Mac wins both road games against Century with dominant pitching by Mix, Brummitt
The McMinnville varsity baseball (9-6, 4-2) team swiped two of three games away from Century (6-10, 4-5) last week, defeating the Jaguars Monday and Friday behind dominating pitching performances from senior Brayden Mix and junior Tyler Brummitt.
On Monday, Mix provided six and 1/3innings of three-hit baseball en route to a 6-0 Grizzly victory.
Mix also struck out eight batters and walked three while throwing 61% of his 106 pitches for strikes.
“He was really sharp,” head coach Todd Peterson said of Mix’s performance. “The expectation that he brings is that he’s going to go out and attack hitters, pound the strike zone and let his defense work and he did just that.”
Offensively, the Grizzlies scored all six of their runs over the first four innings.
RBI singles off the bats of senior outfielder Austin Schoof and senior shortstop Nash Optiz opened the scoring in the top of the second inning as the Grizzlies took a 3-0 lead. Brummit aided the cause in the third inning with a hard-hit double into right-center field to score junior Cameron Hyder from first base, extending the lead to four.
Five pitches later, on a 2-2 count, senior third baseman Bryce Wilson drove in Brummit on a high-hopping single that trampolined past the glove of the Jaguar third baseman.
A fielder’s choice on a ground ball to shortstop in the fourth allowed Mix to score the sixth Grizzly run, providing plenty of padding for Mac to secure a victory in the first of a three-game series.
Hyder, Brummit and Wilson each drove in and scored a run, while Wilson, junior outfielder Aaron Rolfe and junior catcher Drew Bizon all had a multi-hit game.
During Wednesday’s game, the Grizzlies offense could not muster as much success, stranding 15 runners on base in a 9-0 loss at home to the Jaguars.
Mac was able to grind out at-bats against Century’s junior starting pitcher Jace Willett, drawing six walks, two hit-by-pitches, and finding five base hits. But Willett showed an ability to escape jams and kept the Grizzlies scoreless while striking out nine batters.
Peterson gave respect to how challenging Willett is to opposing hitters, but afterward chose to focus on his team’s approach at the plate. Although the Grizzly’s head coach was happy with how they fought, he says there is more to be refined in the selectiveness Mac hitters show against top-tier arms.
“Regardless of who’s pitching, there’s going to be times where the pitcher is going to give you an opportunity within the zone,” Peterson said. “We have to be ready when those opportunities come. When you face guys like Willett, those opportunities are maybe less than what they are against some other guys, but when you face a top-end arm, when they make a mistake, you have to make them pay.”
The Grizzlies followed their home loss by winning the series rubber match on the road on Friday by a score of 5-2.
Once again, Mac was bolstered by a commanding day on the mound, this time by Brummitt.
The junior pitcher allowed one earned run, two hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters over seven innings pitched. Brummitt surrendered two runs through the first three innings, but a late rally broke the game open for the Grizzlies who improved their league record to 4-2 with the win.
The game was tied 2-2 in the top of the sicth when junior Grant Yochum pinch-hit for sophomore outfielder Taylor Carnahan. Yochum found himself in a hero’s scenario — bases loaded, no outs and the go-ahead run 90 feet away.
The junior, with his bat wiggling above his head, proceeded to smack a 1-2 breaking ball diving away from him into center field, where the Jaguar outfielder was unable to secure the catch. The hit scored Wilson from third. With the bases still loaded, junior second baseman AJ Morrison walked to drive in another run, extending the lead to 4-2.
Hyder led off the seventh with a triple as the Jaguars went to their bullpen. Next, Brummitt provided himself an insurance run, scoring Hyder on a sacrifice fly on a ball hit to left field.
Following the victory, the Grizzlies sit in third place in the 6A Pacific Conference standings and No. 17 in the OSAA 6A rankings.
This week, Mac will face No. 28 OSAA-ranked Forest Grove (9-7) for three games, two at home on Monday and Friday, and one on the road on Wednesday. The first two games begin at 5 p.m. while Friday’s will start at 4:30 p.m. at Patton Middle School.
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