Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Taft baseball team prevails in cat fight with fellow Tigers

PHOTOS BY ERIC DEMELLO

caleb Jones
Caleb Jones

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.

Cody Knott
Cody Knott

“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.”

Jack Stempel
Jack Stempel stretches to complete the double play

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.

Turning Two
Eli DeMello turning two as shortstop

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.

Kam Kessler
Kam Kessler
Bleiz Kimbrough
Bleiz Kimbrough

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.

Tyee Fisher
Tyee Fisher

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.

Eli DeMello
DeMello gets waved home

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

Jim Fossum
Jim Fossumhttp://SilverandBlackToday.com
Homepage Executive Editor and former longtime Sports Editor of the near-200,000 circulation Las Vegas Review-Journal, Fossum brings 40 years of award-winning experience covering virtually every facet of print and digital journalism to Lincoln City Homepage. The former longtime reporter for the Newport News-Times and Lincoln City News Guard is also Editor-in-Chief and Senior Columnist for SilverandBlackToday.com, which covers the NFL's Oakland (Las Vegas) Raiders.

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