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Thompson propels Panthers, split with Cougars
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The future of baseball in Wallowa is bright, that showed in Game 1. But there’s still a learning curve, as Game 2 uncovered. “We still have a lot of room to grow,” Cougars head coach Warren Wilson said. “We’re going to have those great games, but we still are going to give some away with errors.” In the end, the Cougars split with Imbler Saturday. G.T. McKenzie showed the influx of young talent during a 6-4 victory. During a four-inning stint he struck out five, while allowing two runs on five hits. One run came on a mistake. McKenzie hung a curveball to Panthers lead-off hitter Nick Thompson. The Imbler senior tattooed the pitch across the road 380 feet from where it started. “Really it was one bad pitch,” Wilson said. “Other than that, (G.T.) hit his spots well.” Isaiah Buck drove in the first run for the Cougars on a two-out double. Freshman Cody Greene bounced back from a strikeout in the first to show why there’s so much hope resting in the Wallowa Mountains. Greene singled in his next three plate appearances. He drove in one run in the game. “It’s all confidence for him,” Wilson said. “He’s got the ability. Now he just needs to realize it.” Imbler mounted a threat, scoring two runs in the sixth. But in came Tyler Harshfield. He ended the rally with two strikeouts to end the inning, leaving two runners stranded in scoring position. In the seventh, he retired the Panthers in order for the save. Wallowa served up a mix of the good, bad and the ugly during a 19-9 loss in the nightcap. The good. After allowing eight runs in the third inning, the Cougars answered in the fourth. Mitchell Shelton hit his second double of the game, driving in two, as Wallowa pushed six runs across the plate. The bad. After cutting the lead from nine runs to three, Wallowa pitching couldn’t slow down the Panthers attack. Thompson finished the game 3-for-3. He collected a single, double and a home run, scoring five times while driving in two runs. “I was just trying to hit the ball and get on base,” Thompson said. “We needed to come out of here with a split. That will give us some confidence for the next game.” The ugly. Seven Wallowa errors and eight walks in five innings. “Errors are going to happen,” Wilson said. “We just need to limit them a little better. It was great to see the kids fight back after being down by so much.” The two teams will meet again Wednesday in Wallowa. It will be the opening round of the Special District 7 playoffs. The winner will play the winner between Joseph and the number six-seed Friday. Pine Eagle and Adrian will hold a playoff game to determine the final spot in the playoffs Monday or Tuesday.
Wallowa 012 012 0 — 6 9 1 Imbler 002 002 0 — 4 7 5 W — McKenzie. L — Thompson. S — Harshfield. 2B— Wallowa, Buck, Wilson; Imbler, Thompson. 3B— Wallowa, McKenzie. HR— Imbler, Thompson.
Wallowa 120 60 — 9 8 7 Imbler 228 25 — 19 13 4 W — Thompson. L — Weaver. 2B— Wallowa, Shelton 2; Imbler, Thompson, Coughlan, Peterson. 3B— Wallowa, Weaver; McIntosh. HR— Imbler, Thompson. Elgin wraps up league titleADRIAN — Elgin completed its first journey Saturday. The Huskies clinched the District 7 regular season title by dominating Adrian. Travis Ludwig and G.D. Clark teamed up to throw a no-hitter in the opener. Ludwig fanned eight batters in three innings of work. Clark entered in the fourth, and struck out two batters. Dalton Moore put Elgin on the board quickly. Moore drilled a pitch over the fence to drive in two runs in the first. Blaine Baker hit his first home run of the year, driving in two runs. Moore went the distance in Game 2. The sophomore struck out nine while walking one during a no-hit performance. Dillan Moore and Jake Kennedy broke open the game in the first. Moore hit a three-run homer. Two batters later, Kennedy drove in two with a home run. Mat Page finished the game 2-of-5 with five RBIs. Dillan Moore and Kennedy finished the game with five hits apiece. Elgin will play Union at 10 a.m. Friday for the No. 1 seed.
Elgin 202 52 — 11 10 1 Adrian 000 00 — 0 0 3 W — Ludwig. L — Purnell. 2B— Elgin, Da. Moore. 3B— Elgin, Clark. HR— Elgin, Da. Moore, Baker.
Elgin 575 (12) 1— 30 30 1 Adrian 000 00 — 0 0 7 W — Da. Moore. L - Ishida. 2B— Clark 2, Da. Moore 2, Nordstrom, Ludwig, Di. Moore, Kennedy. HR— Di. Moore, Ludwig, Kennedy, Predmore.
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