Outlaws baseball loses chance to advance to state tournament

The boys baseball season came to an end on Monday, May 14, when they lost 6-7 to Elmira for the third-place spot in the Sky-Em and a berth to the 4A State Tournament.

Sisters started the day with a 4-1 win over Pleasant Hill (PH) and went on to play Elmira for the third-place seed. The Outlaws needed a win against Elmira to advance to the state playoffs but were unable to hold onto their lead and lost in a heartbreaker in the bottom of the seventh inning.

In Sisters' game against Pleasant Hill, the score remained 0-0 until the fourth inning. In the fourth the Billies scored on a throwing error to third base and took a 1-0 lead.

In the fifth inning Sisters got their first hit of the game when freshman Adam Silva got a base hit up the middle.

With a 3-2 count in the bottom of the sixth, Tanner Hodges hit a curve ball at his knees and extended through it for a 380 foot homerun over right center field to tie the game at 1-1.

"The ball went over the scoreboard and 50 feet up into the trees," said Coach Steve Hodges. "After the game Tanner told me it was the hardest ball he'd hit in his life."

At the end of the seventh, the score was tied, and the game went into extra innings.

The Billies' pitcher hit two Outlaws players in the top of the eighth to put runners on first and second. Hodges doubled down the left field line to score Aaron Fegenbush. Taylor Davenport hit an infield pop up that was dropped by the second baseman when he collided with the shortstop, and two more runs came in to push the Outlaws to a 4-1 advantage.

Sisters closed out the Billies in the bottom of the eighth for the win.

Nate Jackson pitched the first four innings for Sisters, and Jarred Hasskamp finished the game and earned the win.

The Outlaws went right into their second game of the day and faced Elmira for the third-place seed in the conference.

Sisters' jumped out quickly to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Chase Klient scored Hodges and Jackson on a two out base hit for the runs.

Hayden Mayea scored in the third on a groundball to the shortstop who overthrew first base.

Sisters added three more runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-0 lead. Hasskamp scored on a sacrifice fly by Nate Jackson. Aaron Fegenbush scored on an error by the second baseman after reaching base by a hit pitch, and Zach Lange scored on a wild pitch after reaching first base via a walk. At that point things were looking very promising for the Outlaws.

Elmira didn't give up but battled back. The Falcons scored two in the fourth and three in the fifth to pull to within one run of the Outlaws at 5-6. Neither team scored in the sixth.

Sisters was unable to score in the top of the seventh. The Falcons took their last shot in the bottom of the seventh and were able to knock in two more runs to win the game 7-6. The loss eliminated the Outlaws from advancing to the state tournament.

Coach Steve Hodges was pleased that his team made it into post season play and has high hopes for next year.

"We only lose Hayden Mayea (catcher) and so I think we should be in real good shape for next year," said Hodges.

The boys baseball team had four players named to all-league teams this year.

Tanner Hodges (infield) earned first team all-league, and Nate Jackson (pitcher), Jarred Hasskamp (infielder) and Chase Klient (outfielder) all earned second team honors.

Tanner hit .516 for the Outlaws and over the course of the season recorded two homeruns and five doubles.

Jackson had a 4-2 record in the Sky-Em, led the team in stolen bases and hit .304 for the season. Hasskamp hit .339 for the Outlaws and recorded two doubles and seven runs batted in for Sisters. Jarred also had two wins on the mound. Coach Steve Hodges noted that freshman Chase Klient had some great catches in centerfield and had a great second half of the season.