Baseball team suffers first loss of season

The Outlaws started their week with a 17-2 win over Junction City (JC), but split games in their double-header at home against Cottage Grove (CG) on Friday. On Saturday, they beat Dayton 5-1 in a non-league game.

In Tuesday's game, teams played in very cold weather and constant rain, which didn't seem to deter them all, as Sisters posted an impressive win over the visiting Tigers. The Outlaws got their runs off 10 hits and JC scored their two runs off three hits.

The Outlaws' bats were on fire, and in two innings of play the team had already racked up their 17 runs. In the first, they tallied eight quick runs off key hits from Alec Gannon, Austin Morss, Ryan Funk, and a double from Christopher Luz.

They continued to pound the ball in the second, and singles from Jake Larson, Turner Stutzman, Zack Morgan, and a double from Ryan Cook helped with the run production. The game was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

Morgan threw the first two innings, recorded three strike-outs, and was the winning pitcher.

Coach Steve Hodges said, "We just wanted to throw strikes and a lot of fastballs to get the lead. We hit the ball well, and our guys played pretty good defense considering the conditions."

On Friday, the Outlaws shut out Cottage Grove 10-0 in five innings in the first game of the double-header.

Sisters got 10 runs on 10 hits and had two errors in the game.

In the second inning, Zach Morgan got the Outlaws scoring started with a solo home run 350 feet over the right-center fence. Cook followed with a double and then Jett Mingus drove in Cook with a base hit.

Sisters tallied two more runs in the third. Morgan had an RBI single, and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Cook.

The Outlaws finished business in the fifth. Singles from Christopher Luz, Jake Larson, Mingus, and a double from Ryan Funk, combined with several walks, gave Sisters six additional runs.

Turner Stutzman had a walk-off single to right field to end the game.

Morgan threw a two-hitter shut-out in five innings of play.

"Zach had outstanding control and got ahead of hitters," said Hodges. "They (CG) were always hitting in negative counts. Zach had seven strike-outs and threw a lot of first-pitch strikes."

In regards to the win, Hodges said, "The key was that we really strung hits together and had great pitching. We played good baseball. It was one of our better games this year."

In the second game, the Outlaws' bats went cold and they were unable to score a single run. The Lions scored their one run in the fifth on an infield single.

The Outlaws hit a lot of balls in the air, and when they did hit a grounder, they either couldn't get it out of the infield, or they hit it directly into the hands of the defense.

Sisters had the bases loaded in the third and were unable to score, and in the fifth, they started with a lead-off double and couldn't score in that inning, either.

Hodges noted that Cook pitched a good game for the Outlaws, but the offense was unable to support him.

"We just couldn't get a hit when we needed it," said Hodges. "Our offense sputtered. Baseball's a funny game. We scored 10 runs in five, and then couldn't even score one in seven. A key play could have changed the course of the game."

At home on Saturday, the Outlaws defeated Dayton 5-1 in a non-league game. Prior to the game, Dayton was ranked No. 3 in 3A and held a record of 9-1.

The Outlaws got their five runs off five hits and zero errors and Dayton scored their lone run in the seventh inning off seven hits and one error.

It was a scoreless contest until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Ryan Cook, with runners at first and second, hit a ball to left-center field. The fielder lost the ball in the sun and the Outlaws scored two.

The Outlaws are currently 5-1 in league and 13-1 overall. On Friday, April 21, the Outlaws will travel to Sweet Home for a game against the Huskies.