The Mt. Hood Community College Saints baseball team wrapped up their regular season Tuesday, losing at home 11-8, 8-7 to the Lane Community College Titans.
The Saints accumulated more hits in both games but a combination of errors by the Saints and timely hitting by the Titans defined the doubleheader.

The losses meant nothing in terms of the division standings, with the Saints having already clinched first and the Titans having clinched second in the Southern Region.
Of the Southern Region Championship, Saints head coach Gabe Sandy said, "It meant a ton to us. We haven’t won it for two years and it was our main goal coming into the season."

Sandy also said that anything short of a regional championship would have been a disappointment for the team. "To be honest, anything else would have been underachieving. We knew we had enough talent on this team that we should win it this year."

Despite Tuesday’s losses, Sandy was still upbeat about the team’s chances at the NWAACC tournament. Sandy said the Saints’ level of experience will be a deciding factor at the tournament. "We have 17 sophomores on this team; that’s a lot of experience," said the coach. "In big-game situations, that’s what you need."

The Saints opponent in the first round of the tournament has yet to be determined but they do know it will be either Bellevue or Edmonds, two of the top 10 teams in the last NWAACC Coaches poll. "Either way it’s going to be a big challenge. Both of them (Bellevue and Edmonds) have great pitching, so we expect a tough game."

Despite the success that right-handed pitcher Zach Bird has enjoyed this season, including a no-hitter May 13 against Linn-Benton, the Saints will send Shannon Wirth to the mound in their first tournament game, according to Sandy. "Shannon is our guy," said the coach. "He’s been the guy all year and that’s not going to change now. We know he can get it done."