Barlow baseball steals 4-0 win from rival Gresham

Barlow baseball used blistering speed and some savvy running to secure a league win.

On the road against rival Gresham, the Bruins thrice stole home, accounting for 75% of its runs scored in the win.

The first two were back-to-back plays in the 4th inning. Barlow junior Dylan Sheaffer exploded off the base and beat a throw to third, which bounced past the Gresham defender. Sheaffer then leapt up and slid into home, again just beating the throw.

Then courtesy runner senior Micah Ackerman — he was rounding the bases for senior catcher Ransom Lorenzen, who had a hot bat all night — used the attention drawn by sophomore Kai Meyer, who was caught trying to steal second. As Gresham secured that out, Ackerman snuck in for the score.

Then Sheaffer did it again.

In the 6th inning he timed a deep shot from junior Kiyoshi Kiyokawa. The hit, which was an out in right field, allowed Sheaffer to waltz in for the score.

No. 8 Barlow (12-7, 7-2 League) won 4-0 over Gresham Tuesday, April 30, in a Mt. Hood Conference matchup.

The win makes it 8 out of the last 10 for the Bruins, who have been enjoying a strong run outside of a minor blip against powerhouse Sandy. Their fourth run was the icing on the cake — senior Alex Lopez got on base with a single, Lorenzen advanced him with a hit, and then junior River Hamilton brought him home.

While not much was going right for the Gophers (3-14, 0-7 League) offensively, the defense made some plays to keep things within spitting distance. Early on it was senior catcher Tucker Snow, who punished some attempted Bruins steals. He twice heaved a throw from home plate — to third base and then second base — to pick off runners.

Gresham starting pitcher senior Casey Julkowski tossed 8 strikeouts in six innings, relieved by senior William Heard.

But the Bruins had stout defense of its own, led by the pitching Hamilton. He struck out 11 batters going the distance, two of which came in the final frame.