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Saints sweep third straight doubleheader
The Advocate
The South's No. 1 Saints overcame their recent offensive woes Tuesday afternoon in Oregon City as they lit up the Clackamas Cougars for 26 runs on 31 hits in a doubleheader sweep.
The two victories, by scores of 13-5 and 13-2, extended the team's win streak to six games.
The Saints are now 8-2 in Southern Region play (12-5 overall) while the Cougars are now 3-7 in conference (9-13 overall).
Sophomore outfielder Matt Nylen torched the Cougars staff in game one to help Saints freshman starting pitcher Isaac Henslee (1-0). Nylen pieced together a four-hit performance, including two singles, a double and his second homerun of the season.
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The bat he used to hit his homerun was only good for two hits before it snapped.
"He (Nylen) bought a cheap bat from Big 5 and used it kind of as a joke because he liked the way it felt," sophomore infielder Grant Fink said Tuesday night. "He said it felt good and hit a homerun and a double with it — and then it broke."
Nylen said, "My dad got the bat for me and said, 'Hit a bomb with it and if it breaks, it's not a big deal.'"
Fink said he feels the Saints offense has caught stride and can match the strength of their pitching.
"It was incredible," Fink said of the high-scoring offense. "We were hitting like crazy. It was a rival game and we're better than them. We knew what we had to do.
"We expected to win," Fink added. "Now it's time to forget about these games and move on. Leave the past in the past and worry about the future and make a run at this thing (Southern Region championship)."
Sophomore ace Jeremy Burright (3-0) did his part in taming the Cougars in the second game after the Cougars jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the first inning. The Saints offense responded in the top of the second by piling six runs.
The Saints went on to score three runs in both the fourth and sixth innings.
"We're hot right now," freshman infielder Trevor Cass said Tuesday night. Cass ended the night 5 for 7 with two doubles and three RBIs.
"We knew our hitting would come through," Cass added, "It just took a little time. Our confidence was always there. It just took a couple of games to get hot."
Cass also praised the pitching staff.
"Our pitching is always good," he said. "We have a great staff and pitchers who can command games. The way we see it, if we score three or more runs, we think we will win."Nylen said, "Our pitching staff is the best in the South."
Sophomore outfielder Jared Chase said, "A good day for the Saints today. It's going to be hard to beat us this year."
The Saints return to the diamond Saturday as they head south to Albany to face the Linn-Benton Roadrunners (11-11, 5-5) in a doubleheader. On Tuesday they travel to Eugene to square off with the Lane Titans (11-11, 6-4) for a doubleheader.
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