THURSTON — The Thurston baseball team defeated No. 16 Putnam 6-1 on Tuesday in Round 1 of the 5A baseball playoffs, lagging in the first couple of innings, and then rallying for the win with a three-run sixth inning.
“It’s not good for my blood pressure,” head coach Dennis Minium joked on Tuesday regarding the team’s “second half game” nature. “This year, we’ve had the issue of having to go through the entire order before we start clicking. It’d be better if we could do that earlier on. But I tell you what, the kids battled all day long. They worked hard, and they remain very focused right now. They know something big is in front of them.”
The Kingsmen took the lead early in the top of the first inning. It began when second in the lineup, Ian Pollard, doubled on a fly ball to center field. Calvin Booth then singled on a ground ball to the second baseman and scored Pollard.
After taking the lead early, the Kingsmen also ran a tight defense with Pollard on the mound. The Colts couldn’t drop any hits for the first couple of innings.
“We were battle-tested for sure,” said Minium about the strategy for this game. “Down one, nothing. Couldn’t get some hits to drop. But it was a testament to the kids, who kept battling all day long, and finally, they started dropping. We got a couple of hits, scored a couple of runs, and then it was a completely different game at that point. But going in, we knew Pollard was a good pitcher, so we knew we had to put the ball in play and avoid popping up. The ball is hard on the ground.”
The tides of the game finally shifted when junior Brock Johnson made the game-changing play in the bottom of the third. He tripled on a line drive to center field and then scored on a wild pitch upon the next batter— which had the stands roaring.
Johnson brought momentum to the Colts. Following his play, the Colts started tallying up their hits and runs. Grady Saunders and Cam Nosack doubled, with Nosack going 3-for-2 overall. Johnson recorded 3-for-2.
Despite the Colts’ initial slow-going offense, Saunders kept the Colts’ defense confident on the mound. He allowed 4 hits, only one run, and struck out 11 overall. He also tallied 96 total pitches.
“We limited his and our other pitchers’ pitch count during the season to have them ready for the playoffs,” Minium said. “Also, our bye week came at a great time. And then we had Springfield before the bye week, so we were able to shorten starts. With all of our pitchers fresh right now, I think we’re in a good spot moving forward.”
Up next, the Colts host their two-time state finalist foe: West Albany. The Bulldogs shouldn’t be underestimated as they go into Flaten Field to avenge their previous playoff losses. The game starts at 5 p.m. on Friday
