PORTLAND, Ore. — Playing in 100-degree temperatures all of last weekend in Oregon, the Wilder Junior 16U baseball team came within a whisker of winning the Clackamas Futures Tournament.
Wilder Jr. beat the Tigard Twins 11-1, then beat Oregon City 6-2. They followed that up with an 11-7 loss against Jesuit, but Wilder Jr. still qualified for the championship game against Clackamas. In the title game, Wilder Jr. and Clackamas went to 10 innings in 102-degree heat, with the hosts eking out an 8-7 win.
The Sunday game ended tied 5-5 after the regulation seven innings.
Wilder Jr. was twice able to take a lead with a run in the eighth and a run in the 10th, but Clackamas was able to come back and tie the game in the bottom of the eighth and they finally won it with two runs in the 10th.
It was a wild game with a slew of baserunners. Wilder Jr. batters got on base with nine hits, 14 walks and two hit batsmen. Meanwhile, Clackamas had 10 hits and nine walks.
Coach Rob Merritt said the umpire had a small strike zone, helping to lead to so many walks.
He said Wilder Jr. had the bases loaded three times but were never really able to blow the game open. “We didn’t execute with the bases loaded. Both teams had a lot of opportunities,” he said.
“We played really well. It was a good tournament for us,” said Merritt. “The boys showed a lot of heart in that last game. Somebody had to win and somebody had to lose.”
Ethan Flodstrom had a monster tournament for Wilder Jr. He had two hits in the Tigard game, two more in the Oregon City game and two more against Jesuit. In those three games, he went 6 for 10 with two doubles and four runs scored.
Against Tigard, Brody Merritt hit a three-run home run and had four RBIs total. He also pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four batters to pick up a save in the Oregon City game.
Slater Bradley went five innings and struck out seven with zero walks against Oregon City. Against Tigard, he was 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs and a double.
Clackamas 8, Wilder Jr. 7 (10 inn.)
WJ 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 0 1 — 7 9 0
Clack. 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 — 8 10 0
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Lunt 2-4, R; Adams 2-6, 2RBIs, Whitman 2-4, 2RBIs, Bradley 2-4 2RBIs.
Jesuit 11, Wilder Jr. 7
WJ 1 0 0 1 0 3 2 — 7 10 2
Jesuit 0 1 0 1 3 6 0 — 11 12 2
LP: Adams
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Adams 5IP, 5R, 7H, 2K, 3BB
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Flodstrom 2-4, 2B, run, 2RBI; Miller 2-2, 2R.
Wilder Jr. 6, Oregon City 2
WJ 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 — 6 10 1
OC 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 2 5 2
WP: Bradley
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Bradley 5IP, 2ER, 5H, 7K; Merritt 1IP, 0R, 0H, BB, 4K.
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Flodstrom 2-4, 2B, R, Bowen 2-3, 2R; Merritt 2-4, 2B, R, 2RBI; Adams 2-4 R, 2B, 2BB; Jarnigan 2-4.
Wilder Jr. 11, Tigard 1
WJ 0 4 3 0 4 x x — 11 12 1
Tigard 0 0 0 0 1 x x — 1 3 1
WP: Jarnigan
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Jarnigan 4.2IP, 1ER, 3H, 3K, 4BB; Merritt 0.1IP, K, 2BB.
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Flodstrom 2-2, 2R; Merritt 2-4, 2R, HR, 2B, 4RBIs; Bradley 3-3, 3R, 2B, 2RBI.
