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Huskies hold off Heppner
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If fact, that may be a personal record. But Hallgarth let his bat do the talking during a 9-6 win against Heppner Tuesday. The Elgin freshman flashed his leather and came up with clutch hits during the Class 2A state playoff game.“(Tanner) came up big,” Huskies head coach Greg Luse said. “Everything he did got the team pumped up. You could see the bench reacting to him all game long.” The first reaction came from Hallgarth moving up the line-up like a hit song moves up the charts — from eighth to third. He didn’t disappoint. In the first, Hallgarth opened the scoring with a single to drive in Dalton Moore. “You could see the way he was hitting in batting practice,” Luse said. “(Tanner’s) had a hot bat. All the players had the confidence he could handle the move. You’re going to see different pitches hitting third, than you do batting eighth.” In the third, a different name came up clutch. Second baseman Clint Predmore jumped on a fastball from the Mustangs relief pitcher Willy Gentry. Predmore’s hit fell over the left field fence. Hallgarth scored on the home run after opening the inning with a double. “You need players to come up big,” Luse said. “This was a total team effort. We couldn’t have done it without these role guys getting big hits.” In the fourth, Predmore and Hallgarth bailed out their pitcher Travis Ludwig. Hallgarth made a sliding catch for the second out; Predmore pulled in a line drive destined for an outfield gap to end the inning. The Mustangs left two runners stranded in scoring position. “That was a big turning point,” Luse said. “(Heppner) could have scored two more runs on that play if (Clint) doesn’t grab it.” The Huskies defense made the big play time and time again. “It makes it a little easier to pitch when the other eight players are making plays behind you,” Ludwig said. The senior right-hander labored through seven innings to pick up the win. Ludwig allowed six runs, five earned, on 10 hits. He walked seven Heppner batters. “I threw a lot of pitches out there today,” Ludwig said. “It wasn’t easy. I knew I could go out and finish it.” Ludwig (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) gave himself a little breathing room to work with. Heppner cut the lead to 7-4 in the sixth, but he widened the gap with a double in the bottom half of the inning, scoring G.D. Clark and Hallgarth. Hallgarth reeled in the first two outs of the seventh. But Heppner wouldn’t fade way, striking twice in the seventh. “We knew it was going to be tough,” Ludwig said. “(Heppner) wasn’t going to give up. We needed everything we put on the board.” Elgin will host Oakland at 4 p.m. Friday. Heppner 000 220 2 — 6 10 0 Elgin 132 102 x — 9 9 2 W- Ludwig. L - Day. 2B- Hep, Day; Elgin, Hallgarth, Ludwig. HR- Elgin, Predmore. Union lost at Nestucca, 3-2. The recap will run in Thursday’s edition. |
