Huskies baseball on win streak

The Sherman Huskies baseball team is riding a five-game winning streak and has a perfect 3-0 record in league play.

Led by head coach Joe Justesen, the Huskies travelled to Dufur for their league opener on Tuesday, the 8th, a game in which Sherman overpowered the Rangers 21-8. This single game was followed by a double header against Dufur in Moro on Saturday. The Huskies handled the Rangers again, winning the opener 10-5, and the second game by a score of 13-3. With those three victories they swept the series against the Rangers.

Tuesday's game in Dufur started out as a two-way slugfest. Sherman trailed 8-7 after three innings, but in the fourth the Husky pitchers settled down and began to quiet the Dufur bats. Meanwhile, the Huskies continued to pound out hit after hit. After four runs in the fourth, and two more in the fifth, the Huskies' outdid themselves in the sixth, sending eight runners across the plate, all while holding the Rangers scoreless.

The Huskies' two players from Condon, catcher Brody Geer and first baseman Blake Carnine, had excellent hitting days. Geer went four for five with two doubles. He also scored three runs and drove in five. Carnine, for his part, went five for six with three runs scored and three batted in. Added to that, Caiden Walker, Eduardo Rubio, and Kole Martin each had three hits, and Cade von Borstel scored a team-high five runs. Defensively, Martin continued to captivate Sherman fans with two spectacular catches in centerfield.

Saturday in Moro, in the opening game of the twin bill, Eduardo Rubio turned in a fine pitching performance. He yielded only three hits and one earned run over five and a third innings, striking out eight and walking only two as he battled Dufur hurler Foster Harvey through the several innings.

In the top of the sixth, as the Huskies were transitioning to reliever Sawyer Baker, Dufur scored two runs and tied the game four to four. Sherman immediately answered back, erupting for six runs on five hits in the bottom half of that same inning, effectively sealing the win for the Huskies. Baker was able to fend off the Rangers for two and two-third innings and got the win. Martin, Talon Dark, and Michael Blagg accounted for six of the eleven Husky hits, while Geer and Leven Whitbeck drove in two runs apiece.

Game two took a similar course. Starter Talon Dark and reliever Leven Whitbeck combined to hold the Huskies to three runs. Dufur slipped into the lead 2-1 in the top of the fourth but, as in game one, Sherman answered. They scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning and never relinquished that lead. After the Rangers pulled Thomas, their starting pitcher, the Huskies were able to pile on eight more runs.

For the second time that day the Huskies produced eleven hits. Again, the reliever got the win. Whitbeck, the Huskies only player from Wheeler High School, led the team with three hits, two of which were doubles. Talon Dark and Cade von Borstel added two hits apiece, and the versatile Eduardo Rubio, who filled in at shortstop while Whitbeck pitched, made two superb infield plays.

The Huskies are an entertaining team to watch. They currently have six players hitting over .300, and are led by Talon Dark, who has been pounding the ball game in and game out since the season started. Dark, a third baseman, has gotten off to a great start and is hitting at a heady .522 clip. Following Dark is Brody Geer who is hitting an even .400.

The competition is expected to stiffen as the Huskies take on Irrigon next, in another three-game series.