THURSTON – Eighth-seeded Thurston had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the sixth inning Friday against top-seeded Corvallis. In those moments, you hope to have your best players at bat – and the Colts had their best in Grady Saunders.
“When he came up with the bases loaded, tied 3-3, they called time, they went out to the mound, and I thought they were legitimately thinking about putting Grady on and going down 4-3. Honestly, I thought they were going to put him on,” Colts head coach Dennis Minium said.
Instead, Corvallis chose to pitch to him, and Saunders took the first two pitches for balls.
He spoke last Tuesday about the importance of getting ahead in the count as a pitcher. “Hitters hit like .150 after (the count) goes 0-1, and they hit like .330 after going 1-0, just in the wide scheme of baseball,” Saunders had said earlier in the week.
His words proved prophetic. Saunders hit a 2-RBI double to the opposite field to put his team up 5-3. One more run crossed before the inning finished to give the Colts a 6-3 lead, which is how the game finished.
“I knew if we could get to him in that inning, we’d have a chance to take a lead, and I knew he was going to get a base hit. I knew he was,” Minium said.
“Whether or not it was going to be a ball in the gap, a base hit to score two, whatever it was, I knew that we were going to have the lead after his at-bat.”
Thurston scored all six runs in that sixth inning, on three hits, three walks and two hit-by-pitches.
On the defensive side, Brody Corgain provided clutch relief pitching. Corgain entered the game in the fourth inning with two runners on base and two outs, and his catcher Carlin Crutcher helped him by throwing out a runner on the basepaths to end the inning. Corgain threw the final three innings after that, allowing one hit and striking out three Spartan batters. Starter Parker Edwards was also largely stellar, apart from one mistake that led to a three-run double.
“Our pitching staff, and Glen Macdonald, our pitching coach, had a game plan, and their top-five guys in the order were 1-for-14,” Minimum said. “Parker hung a ball for that guy to hit that double, to clear the bases. But he pitched his butt off tonight. They both did.”
A fond farewell
In their first playoff game, the Colts defeated Bend 4-2 on Tuesday. Saunders had a no-hitter through six innings, and despite a shaky final inning, escaped with the victory and a 10-strikeout complete game.
“I’ve pitched in a lot of playoff games, this was probably the last one here, unless things happen, but it meant a lot to finish it out,” Saunders said.
That game was also a breakout performance for Levi Woodman. Minium had big plans for the sophomore outfielder coming into the season, but a lateral meniscus tear had him out for much of the season, and not at 100% even when he returned. Woodman hit a home run and a double off the base of the outfield wall in Tuesday’s game, which he said was the first time he felt fully healthy.
Minium’s face lit up postgame when talking about his young right fielder.
“It was awesome,” Minimum said. “I’ve been waiting for that all year from him. I’m glad it happened today. He’s a gamer. He’s a bulldog, he wants to be out there. He’ll play at 80%, he’ll play at 75%. He’s been itching all year … but today, he looked like a different kid.”
Minium reflected on the incredible run his team is on, but knows even a state semifinal will not satisfy his staff and players, given the success of the past few years.
“From where we started to where we are now, I don’t have any words to explain how I feel. I mean, it’s just incredible, absolutely incredible,” he said.
“This group is special, and they’re not satisfied with where we’re at right now. They have a legit chance to play for a third state championship in a four-year span.”
The Colts move onto the semifinals for the fourth straight year, where they will play fourth-seeded Summit. The Colts will be on the road because they are the lower seed, with the game taking place on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
