The Chronicle
By Eli Thomas
CRESWELL – The Creswell Bulldogs’ pitching and defense have been the best in Class 3A this season, and Friday’s 12-0 quarterfinal victory over Burns/Crane was no different.
Bulldogs junior Jaxon Pelham struck out the Hilanders final batter for his 12th strikeout of the game and 100th of the season. The out also put the finishing touches on a five-inning no-hit masterpiece.
“In the fourth inning, I was sitting in the dugout thinking, ‘Wait, they haven’t got a hit yet,’ so I was really excited about that. But it’s really easy to pitch when it’s probably the best defense in the state, because I can trust them to do everything.”
The Bulldogs defense is excellent, but Pelham also made their lives easy, with only three balls put in play.
Pelham was pitching with a significant lead from the second inning on, because his offense put up nine runs in the bottom of the first. A miscommunication by the Hilanders infield resulted in an error when an out would have ended the inning at 1-0, and things quickly snowballed. After 30+ minutes, 62 pitches, and 13 Bulldogs batters, the Hilanders finally escaped the inning down 9-0.
The Bulldogs offense was led by two transfers. Junior Landon Vaughn, who came over from Cottage Grove, was 3-for-4, with two stolen bases and a two-RBI single in his second at-bat of the first inning. Junior Zak Hermansen, a Lowell transfer, was 2-for-2, with a walk, two stolen bases, and 2 RBI. The pair have provided the Bulldogs with pitching depth, clutch hitting, and speed on the basepaths this season.
“We work on approaches all the time, every day, and (they) are buying in, they’re putting in extra work, and they’re just doing a great job,” head coach Kevin Feist said of Vaughn and Hermansen.
Feist said the victory against his former program, now coached by his former players, was bittersweet, but it was all in the spirit of competition.
“I love those guys. I’m proud of them for the job they’ve done,” he said. “I have a lot of fond memories of those guys, but yeah, you want to beat them.”
The Bulldogs get one more home game thanks to the semifinal matchup, facing 7th-seeded South Umpqua/Days Creek.
“We have a great crowd. These kids are getting a lot of support, so I love being at home,” Feist said.
The Bulldogs already have beaten the Lancers twice this season, including a 4-3 road victory two weeks ago. That game will be on Tuesday, with the time yet to be determined.
