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Sports Local Sports La Grande All-Stars sneak past Pilot Rock
La Grande All-Stars sneak past Pilot Rock
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For Pilot Rock the game was a must-win as it entered the contest 0-2 in pool play. Pilot Rock gave La Grande all it could handle for much of Tuesday’s game. “For some reason it’s taking our bats awhile to get going,” La Grande manager Tony Boyd said. “But they seem to get it going when we need it.“We threw a lot of pitchers today. Hopefully they are a little more accurate in the upcoming games. But when we needed to find the strike zone they did.” Troy Williams began the La Grande scoring in the top of the first inning with an RBI sacrifice fly-out to centerfield that scored Mitch Workinger. Pilot Rock threatened to take the lead in the bottom half of the inning, placing runners on second and third base. But after a stellar double ended the threat. A La Grande outfielder made a catch and threw out at home, keeping Pilot Rock off the board. La Grande appeared to be making a big run in the second inning by loading the bases after its first two batters were retired. Drew Hively got on base with a single then Ely Wisdom, Workinger and Kurt Boyd were all walked. The walks forced Hively across the plate. However, La Grande failed to capitalize with the loaded bases and left all three stranded after a ground out. After no scoring in the third inning, La Grande got another RBI from Williams with a ground out that scored Workinger. La Grande’s Tanner Stremcha retired Pilot Rock’s batters in order in the bottom of the fourth. “I thought we played alright today,” Stremcha said. “Pilot Rock is a pretty good team. So this was a good win for us.” Stremcha highlighted a four run top of the fifth inning with a two-run double. Workinger added an RBI double in the inning. La Grande struggled on the mound in the bottom of the fifth surrendering three walks that loaded the bases. With two outs Pilot Rock scored three runs off of a deep hit that bounced off the centerfield wall. With the score 7-5 and the momentum in favor of Pilot Rock, La Grande stretched its lead in the top of the sixth inning. Williams began the inning with a single followed by a double by J.C. Rogers. Ryan Middleton drove in Williams with a single and then Ely Childs brought in Rogers and Middleton with a double. After consecutive outs, Wisdom hit a double to left field and he was brought in with a double by Workinger. Williams closed the inning with a RBI single that drove in Workinger. Kurt Boyd closed the game for La Grande, retiring Pilot Rock’s hitters in order. La Grande left nine runners on base against Pilot Rock and will need to capitalize on those opportunities this morning against Baker County in a game that started at 9 a.m. Baker enters the game 3-0 and tied with La Grande atop the Red Pool. The winner advances to the semifinals as the first place team from the pool and the loser will play the Blue Pool’s first place in the semifinals. Baker County has outscored its opponents 31-2 in its first three games. La Grande has a 33-7 advantage over its counterparts in the tournament. “I’m happy with where we are sitting,” Tony Boyd said. “We’re going to have to play really tough though. We’re going to have to pick it up a lot. Baker is bringing a good team. We’re have to play one of our better games to beat them.”
La Grande 110 146 – 13 15 3 Pilot Rock 000 050 – 5 5 4
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