Before dancing the night away at prom, the Camas High School baseball team took care of business on the diamond.
The Papermakers defeated first place Union 1-0 Saturday, behind seven innings of 5-hit baseball thrown by Dylan White. He also struck out nine Titans. Six of them were caught looking at strike three.
“What a pitching performance,” said head coach Joe Hallead. “I looked him in the eye after we lost to Skyview yesterday and told him he had to carry us, and that’s what he did. You couldn’t ask for more out of a senior captain than what he gave us today.”
McKinley LeFore served a 2-out single into center field to drive home Reid Conlee for the game’s only run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Conlee walked to first base to lead off the frame, and Cameron Pierce sacrificed him over to second. LeFore then came through in the clutch.
“He dropped a parachute and landed that thing in the grass,” Hallead said. “That’s what can happen when you put the ball in play.”
White went back out on the mound and threw with more fire. He struck out two Titans in a row to bring the sixth inning to a close. All he needed was three more outs.
“It just made me feel that much more confident,” White said. “The team got me a run. I just wanted to get all the outs I could. I wanted to make sure that one run was all we needed.”
Sophomores Jared Bentley and Tucker Parker turned a double play to get the final two outs of the game, which preserved the shutout for White and solidified the victory for Camas against the first place team in league.
“This shows that anything can happen,” White said. “As long as we can come out and play good ball, we can beat anybody.”
After the game, Hallead commended the Papermakers for their unity. They were fired up for every pitch on the field or in the dugout.
“This group is so unified, and that kind of atmosphere is really fun to coach in,” Hallead said.
Battle Ground beat Camas 12-7 Monday. Pierce, LeFore, Blake Christopher and White drove in runs for the Papermakers. Connor Heredia added a 2-run double.
Camas faces Evergreen, Heritage and Union this week.
