Second baseman Dylan Miller catches a throw as a Horizon Christian runner beats feat to second base. Miller missed tagging out the runner but threw out the hitter at first. GINI DAVIS – THE CRESWELL CHRONICLE
Now 1-6 in league baseball standings and 4-9 overall, the Bulldogs fell 4-14 in five innings to visiting Horizon Christian in a nonleague game on April 23, and 2-12 in six innings to host third-ranked La Pine on April 25.
Creswell hit four doubles against seventh-ranked Horizon Christian but committed 10 costly errors.
”Double-digit errors are never good,” said Coach Chris Whitmore. ”If we were playing the way we should be on defense, four runs should win us a ballgame.”
Dean Howard went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs; Cade Apo went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI; Dallton Dewey went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run; Dylan Miller went 1-for-2 with a double and a run; and Jack Callahan went 2-for-3.
Apo opened on the mound, giving up 10 runs (nine earned) on five hits, striking out one and walking seven in 2 2/3 innings.
Callahan pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits, striking out one and walking four. Miller pitched one-third inning, giving up one earned run on three hits and striking out one. Dewey pitched the final two-thirds inning, striking out one.
At La Pine, Howard started pitching, giving up eight runs (six earned) on 13 hits and striking out six, with no walks, in 4 1/3 innings.
”Dean made a lot of good, big pitches against a tough lineup – and pitches that should’ve been outs, but unfortunately our defense didn’t really back him up all that well,” Whitmore said. ”There was just a lack of effort getting to the ball and several cans of corn (high, easy-to-catch fly balls) were hit to the outfield that dropped.”
Whitmore said Howard did a good job containing powerhouse hitters Jake Farnsworth and Wyatt DeForest.
DeForest, Whitmore noted, had slammed three home runs during a La Pine-Pleasant Hill doubleheader, and with Farnsworth, ”there’s no safe spot in the strike zone; he just hits the ball where it’s pitched – but Dean was able to ambush him a couple times with his fastball and got him to roll over on a curve ball that should’ve ground out but unfortunately found a hole in the infield.”
Callahan pitched the final two-thirds inning, giving up four earned runs on seven hits and walking one.
Jarek Hodge went 2-for-3 with an RBI; Howard went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run; and Miller went 1-for-3 with a run.
A game slated for April 27 at Pleasant Hill was rained out and will be played this week.
”Hopefully we can make some adjustments going forward and make a push the final two weeks of the regular season,” Whitmore said.