The perfect season is over, but the goal remains for Columbia River baseball.
The Chieftains still can win a league title. They still can make a long playoff run.
Just like last year.
Kelso got its first hit of the game Saturday in the sixth inning, then scored four runs in the frame and ended up beating Columbia River 5-3 in a Class 3A Greater St. Helens League game.
It is River’s first loss of the season after 10 wins, including four league victories.
“Last year, same exact thing,” said Jace McKinney, who had three hits for River and also pitched into the sixth for the Chieftains. “It’s better to get a loss now than later on.”
Not that the Chieftains wanted to lose at any time. But Columbia River coach Stephen Donohue also noted that Kelso handed his team its first loss last season, too, and things still ended up just fine. Columbia River ended up reaching the Class 3A state quarterfinals in 2014.
“We didn’t lose a game after that for quite a while,” Donohue recalled. “This is a wake-up call to clean up some things.”
Close games are rare, too, for Columbia River this season.
“This helps us a lot,” McKinney said. “Instead of blowing out teams, we’ll have to learn to get the bunts down and do the small things.”
Columbia River was in position to keep its winning streak alive through five innings. McKinney had not given up a hit and the Chieftains led 3-0.
Then Kelso took advantage of two walks and got two hits in the sixth inning, scoring four runs. Davis Radcliffe had a two-run double in the frame.
“We all live for the clutch moments,” Radcliffe said. “It’s one of the best feelings when you get that kind of a hit. All it takes is one hit to get something going.”
Radcliffe also pitched the final two innings for the save.
“We pretty much had them for five innings. They outplayed us from there,” Donohue said. “We didn’t execute late.”
The coach also noted that the Chieftains still managed nine hits, plus had more than a few baseballs that were hit hard but went straight to the Kelso defense.
“Everything’s been falling, and today it wasn’t,” Donohue said.
In fact, Columbia River came into game batting .415 as a team.
McKinney then went 3 for 3 and drove in a run to push his batting average to .697 with 21 runs batted in for the Chieftains.
“I just have confidence,” he said. “I know I’m going to get on every time. I just know.”
Garrett McKee had a run-scoring double on Saturday and now has 23 RBIs and is batting .656.
Up and down the lineup, the Chieftains have been getting it done all season. Saturday, they were on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
But McKinney, Donohue, and the rest of the Chieftains understand one loss cannot define a season. It could ignite a season, though.
