Outlaws fall in second round of playoffs

The Sisters High School baseball team defeated Junction City 8-5 in the first round of district playoffs at Cottage Grove (CG) on Monday, May 17. Immediately following the win, the Outlaws lost 18-8 to Cottage Grove, which brought their season to an end.

In the first game of the double-header, Junction City took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Sisters' Sean Heagney hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the inning to close the Tiger lead to 2-1.

At the end of three innings the Tigers led 3-1. Sisters came back in the fourth and tacked on three runs to regain the lead at 4-3.

The Outlaws last four runs all came in the sixth inning. Jacob Rocco and Brandon Morgan got on base with a single. Chase Kleint's base hit brought in Rocco and then Aaron Fegenbush smashed the ball over the right field fence for a three-RBI homer. Sisters pushed to an 8-5 advantage.

"It was the biggest hit of his (Fegenbush's) high school career," said Coach Steve Hodges. "It was great to see him come through with a very clutch at-bat. I'm very proud of him."

The Tigers were only able to get two runs in the top of the seventh, and the game came to an end.

Eric Carlson, Brandon Morgan and Sean Heagney all pitched for the Outlaws. Heagney took over in the third and pitched to the end.

"When Sean came in, he definitely changed the tempo of the game and shut down Junction City's offense," said Hodges. "He gave us the opportunity to win."

Hodges added, "It was a muscling game. We didn't play our best, but we battled and showed some heart, and it gave us a chance to play one more."

Sisters immediately faced Cottage Grove in the second round and a chance to move deeper into the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Outlaws suffered a brutal 18-8 loss.

Sisters did have a strong start and went up 5-0 in the top of the first inning. The lead didn't last long. Cottage Grove notched nine runs of their own in the bottom of the inning and went up 9-5.

The Outlaws were able to get close in the fourth and closed the gap 11-8. But again, in the bottom of the inning, the Lions tallied six more and put the game away.

"We just couldn't recover," said Hodges. "The real story of the game was that we were forced to pitch Sean (Heagney) in the first game to get the win, and then we had to use six pitchers in this game. But, I've got to give them (CG) credit. They out-hit us, and they deserved to win."