Outlaws win two of three on the diamond

The Outlaws started off their week with a 3-2 road win at Junction City on Tuesday, April 10, and three days later split games in the double-header at Cottage Grove (CG).

In Tuesday's action, the Outlaws came from behind to top Junction City.

Pherry Luz hit a single in the top of the second to get on base, and Austin Lake drew a walk to score Sisters' first run of the contest.

Junction City scored one run in the fifth, and another in the sixth to go up 2-1.

Sisters was down by one at the top of the seventh. Zach Morgan led off with a solo home run over the left field fence to even the score at 2-2. Lake, with two outs, hit a single down the third-base line, which scored the go-ahead run.

Lake said, "I barely made it to first base. It was a close play and such a relief when I touched the bag and was safe, and we went up by one."

The Outlaws staved off the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh and retired the side, one-two-three, with Morgan striking out the final batter on a fast ball.

Morgan pitched the entire game; he allowed four hits and two runs, struck out four, and walked one. Zach was able to locate his fastball throughout the game, and also had good movement on his slider.

Morgan said, "Right before the bottom of the seventh my coach told me to bow my neck and go out and win the game. I felt good and wanted to end it. I refocused from the excitement of the last inning and worked hard for those last three outs."

The Outlaws left 10 runners on base, including bases loaded in the third.

Sisters finished with 12 hits in the game. Luz, Dillon Tucker, and Austin Morss led the Outlaws with two hits each. Garrett Vohs, Morgan, Lake, Hunter Spor, Taylor Fendall and Turner Stutzman all recorded singles in the contest.

On Friday, the Outlaws came out strong with six runs in the top of the first to take a 6-0 lead over the Lions. Sisters' scoring spree started with a single from Luz on an 0-2 count that scored their first run. The Lions answered with three runs to narrow the gap to 6-3.

The Outlaws added two runs in the second and one in the fourth, and held the Lions scoreless the last six innings.

Morgan and Fendall each had three hits in the contest, and Morss had two. Lake recorded three RBI and Fendall and Morss had two RBI each.

Tucker and Turner Stutzman took care of the pitching duties. Dillon allowed two hits on three runs, and Stutzman allowed one hit, no runs, and struck out four.

In the second game, at the top of the first, Luz took a swing on the first pitch for a double that scored one. The Lions came back in the bottom of the inning to tie it up 1-1, and it was a tight game from that point on.

The Lions scored a run in the bottom of the third to take the lead, but the Outlaws tied it back up in the top of the fourth on a single from Spor. CG answered in the bottom of the fourth and again grabbed the advantage.

Sisters tacked on two in the top of the fifth, and regained the lead at 4-3, but the Lions once again tied it up with a run in the bottom of the inning.

It was a quiet sixth inning for both teams, but a devastating error by the Outlaws in the seventh allowed the Lions to score, and Sisters took the loss.

Coach Reed Rainey said, "Our defense is the mainstay of our team. Unfortunately, we aren't good enough offensively yet to overcome games when our defense falters. The positive is we are in the thick of the battle for the league title right now, and control our own destiny."

Lake went two-for-three at the plate for the Outlaws, Luz hit a double, and Stutzman, Morgan, Fendall, Vohs and Spor all tallied singles. Vohs led the team with two RBI, and Luz and Spor each recorded one RBI.

Sisters had five errors in the game, and also left 10 runners on base.

The Outlaws will play in a double-header at home against Sweet Home on Friday, April 20. They are currently 4-2 in league and 9-5 overall.