Baseball takes second place in opening tournament

By R.C. HALSEY

The Mt. Hood Community College baseball team took second place in the Palouse College Classic March 3-5.

The tournament was held in Pullman, Wash., at Washington State University and featured seven teams. Six of the teams were from the NWAACC: Mt. Hood, Spokane, Lane, Edmonds, Lower Columbia and Big Bend.

The seventh team was WSU’s JV team. MHCC’s first opponent was Big Bend, which they beat handily 9-2. In the first inning the Saints scored six runs and put Bend at a big disadvantage right from the start. They had15 hits in the game. Josh Suarez struck out three batters and got credited with the win.

Justin Reynolds had three RBIs and Brooks Lendlsey had two. Billy Clontz and Tyson Nelson each went two for two at the plate and hit a triple.

The Saints played Edmonds the following day and won 4-3 in a tight contest. All seven runs were scored in the last two innings.

Austan Mason was the starting pitcher for the Saints but Michael Horner came in and secured the win. He also struck out three batters.

Later that same day the Saints played Spokane and won 6-2. Starting pitcher Joe Bosso struck out three batters. Tommy Rodriguez had a double and two RBIs.

The following day Mt. Hood lost to Lower Columbia, 2-1, in the championship game. Lower Columbia was the same team that beat the Saints in the NWAACC championship last season.

Mt. Hood had four hits against Lower Columbia. Two of them came from Lindsley. He hit a double, a triple, and scored the only run for the Saints.

Head Coach Gabe Sandy said the team played “good baseball.” He is in his seventh year as coach.

Last season the Saints won the Southern Region with a record of 24-6. Their overall record was 35-10.

Sandy said the goal this year is the same as every other year he has been coach, win the Southern Region and then win the NWAACC championship.

The Saints have a 27-man roster this year. Only seven are sophomores. All of the starters from last season are gone, even the pitchers.

Sandy remains positive and says he is confident about the ability of his players. They’re a young team and will face difficult challenges.