The Crook County Cowboys remain undefeated in Tri-Valley Conference baseball after taking a 4-1 win over the visiting The Dalles Riverhawks Monday afternoon.
“We knew it was going to be a battle, so we were up for the game,” Crook County head coach Steele Bailey said. “The guys came in excited and played hard all game, so I couldn't be more proud of the guys.”
In a game that featured good pitching and just one error by either team, The Dalles scored first, picking up a run in the second inning.
Crook County answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Tyson Martinez walked to open the inning before Gage Martinez singled to right, moving Martinez to third base. Trenton Tucker was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A single from Carson Knudtson scored Tyson Martinez, then Gage Martinez scored on a sacrifice fly from Tyis Yustat.
The Cowboys scored again in the third inning, taking advantage of a The Dalles miscue. Hayden Forman doubled to start the inning, then went to third when The Dalles pitcher Sam Shaver was unable to catch a routine throw from the catcher. Forman then scored on a Tyson Martinez sacrifice fly to deep left field.
Crook County scored the final run of the game in the sixth as Gage Martinez doubled to start the inning. Tucker Trenton then struck out, but reached first base when the catcher was unable to field the pitch cleanly. A hustling Martinez not only made it to third base, but scored as the catcher was looking for the ball near the backstop. A sacrifice bunt and an error from The Dalles put runners in scoring position again, but a hard line drive out and a pop up kept the Cowboys from scoring more runs.
Tyson Martinez pitched a complete game for Crook County, striking out eight and walking one while allowing just four hits.
“We needed this win.,” Tyson Martinez said. “It gives us leverage to the league title. People need to step up and I think we did great today.”
The Dalles hit Martinez hard early in the game, but he made some adjustments and was strong trom the third inning on.
“We knew these guys could hit and I knew that we were going to step up and not make any errors. I figured out that they were hitting the fastball well, so I thought that I would throw some off speed and it worked well. That gives us good momentum into the second game with The Dalles on Wednesday and if we get that it sets us up for the league title.”
Meanwhile, Shaver threw five innings for The Dalles, striking out two, walking two and giving up four runs and six hits. Nolan Donivan relieved Shaver with no outs in the sixth and did not allow a hit in his one inning of work.
Tyson Martinez and Yustat each stole a base for Crook County, while the only stolen base attempt from The Dalles ended up in an out at second.
With the win Crook County moved up to fourth in the OSAA power rankings and improved their record to 13-3 overall and 7-0 in league play, while The Dalles fell to seventh in the power rankings and dropped to 12-6 overall and 6-1 in the conference. The two teams play again Wednesday in The Dalles before the Cowboys go on the road again on Friday to take on Molalla, 8-8, 3-4.
“Tyson Martinez threw a heck of a game,” Bailey said. "Wednesday we just have to come out with the same intensity and go right at them.”
Crook County 4, The Dalles 1
at Crook County
The Dalles – 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 4 1
Crook County – 0 2 1 0 0 1 x – 4 6 0
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