Cowboys rock Gladstone, smell post season

The Crook County High School baseball team virtually locked up a playoff spot after rolling past Gladstone 11-4 Wednesday afternoon.

With just four league games remaining , the win at Gladstone gave Crook County a 9-1 league mark, while third-place Molalla has just a 5-5 record. The Cowboys host Estacada Thursday afternoon, and a win over the Rangers would guarantee the Cowboys a playoff berth.

Crook County was in control the entire way Wednesday, scoring a run in the first, two in the second and five in the third to take total control of the contest.

Gladstone finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the fifth inning, then added two more in the sixth to make things interesting, before Crook County put the game out of reach with three more runs in the top half of the seventh inning.

Crook County starting pitcher Tyson Martinez threw five innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs, while walking two and striking out nine. Carson Knudtson came in to relieve Martinez in the sixth and allowed one hit and two runs, while walking three and striking out one in his two innings of work.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys rapped out 16 hits against three Gladiator pitchers as five Cowboys had multiple hits. Leadoff batter Tyis Yustat had a monster game, going 4-for-4 at the plate with a double three RBIs and two stolen bases. Yustat also walked one time. Austin Vaughan was nearly as strong at the plate, going 4-for-5 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Zach Allen went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Trenton Tucker was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a stolen base. The final better with multiple hits was Martinez, who went 2-5 with a double and a stolen base. Hayden Forman had the final Crook County hit, going 1-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.

Crook County is now 15-4 on the year, while Gladstone falls to 5-6 in Tri-Valley Conference play and 9-13 overall. The Cowboys are also sixth in the OSAA power rankings. The Dalles, which is ranked seventh, holds a half game lead over the Cowboys with a 10-1 league record and a 16-6 overall mark.

Estacada, who the Cowboys play Thursday, May 2, has a 7-14 overall record and is 1-10 in league. Game time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

The Cowboys are at Madras on Monday, host The Dalles on Wednesday, then close out the regular season on Friday at Molalla.

Crook County 11, Gladstone 4

at Gladstone, May 1

Crook County – 1 2 5 0 0 0 3 – 11 16 5

Gladstone – 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 – 4 4 1