PHOTOS BY ERIC DEMELLO
Outfielder Caleb Jones drove in four runs on two hits and scored twice, and fellow sophomore Trenton Fisher and junior Cody Knott added two RBIS each Wednesday to lead the Taft High baseball team to a 14-3 road win at Clatskanie.
“We didn’t play our best baseball, but we found a way to win,” Taft coach Matt Hilgers said. “We came out flat, and it took us awhile to get going. We showed composure today after a long bus ride.”
The No. 1-ranked Tigers used a seven-run third inning after scoring four times in the second to improve to 14-2 and win their eighth straight.
Juniors Kam Kessler and Bleiz Kimbrough yielded just three hits to Class 3A Lewis & Clark League member Clatskanie, also nicknamed the Tigers, who fell to 4-6.
Jones and sophomore catcher Eli DeMello, hitting in the leadoff spot, led Taft with two hits each. Kessler tallied three runs, while Jones, junior left fielder Tyee Fisher and senior first baseman Jack Stempel scored twice each.
Jones and Tyee Fisher, who joined DeMello, Kessler and Kimbrough with an RBI each, doubled for Taft’s only extra-base hits. Jones’ shot landed at the base of the wall, 348 feet away.
Sophomore catcher Cade Warren had two of Clatskanie’s three hits against the Tigers, who stole five bases, turned three double plays and scored more than 10 runs in their fifth straight game.
First-place Taft, 5-0 in Class 3A West Valley League play, hosts Dayton (6-8, 3-1) at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Taft 14, Clatskanie 3
TAFT AB R H BI
Eli DeMello 4 1 2 1
Cody Knott 4 1 0 2
Caleb King 4 0 0 0
Jack Stempel 2 2 0 0
Tyee Fisher 3 2 1 1
Kam Kessler 2 3 1 1
Caleb Jones 4 2 2 4
Bleiz Kimbrough 4 1 1 1
Trenton Fisher 3 1 0 2
*Darius Smith 0 1 0 0
TOTALS 30 14 7 12
CLATSKANIE AB R H BI
James Helmen 3 0 1 1
Cade Warren 3 0 2 1
Dawson Evenson 3 0 0 0
Michael Sterba 2 0 0 0
Noah Patterson 3 0 0 0
Foster Evenson 2 1 0 0
Chase Baker 0 1 0 0
Jack Boothe 1 1 0 0
Sam Shockley 1 0 0 1
TOTALS 18 3 3 3
TAFT 047 012 0 — 14
CLATSKANIE 030 000 0 — 3
LOB–TAFT 2018 3, CLATSKANIE 3. ERR–Cody Knott, Jack Boothe (2), James Helmen (4). 2B–Tyee Fisher, Caleb Jones. HBP–Kam Kessler, Michael Sterba, Foster Evenson, Sam Shockley. SB–Tyee Fisher, Eli DeMello, Cody Knott, Jack Stempel, Caleb Jones.
TAFT IP H R ER BB SO HR
Kam Kessler (W) 2.00 2 3 3 2 2 0
Bleiz Kimbrough 4.00 1 0 0 1 2 0
CLATSKANIE
Cade Warren (L) 2.00 1 4 2 3 1 0
Foster Evenson 2.67 5 8 0 0 1 0
Jack Boothe 1.33 1 2 2 1 0 0
PB–Cade Warren, Dawson Evenson (4). BB–Tyee Fisher, Kam Kessler, Jack Stempel (2), Chase Baker (2), Jack Boothe.
Taft roster/schedule
Class 3A West Valley League standings
Class 3A OSAA rankings
