Nothing about Columbia River’s baseball game Tuesday against Washougal went according to plan.
But the Chieftains will take the end result.
Andrew Wisch singled home Derek Mettler to complete a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh and lift River to a 4-3 victory in 2A Greater St. Helens League play.
“We’ve pitched well this spring, and played good defense,” River coach Stephen Donohue said. “And in high school baseball, if you can do that, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win.”
Donohue hoped to get a little better pitching on Tuesday from his ace Nick Nygard. But the senior, who committed to the University of Portland on Monday, struggled with his command and was relieved in the third inning.
“I was just off today, and it happens,” Nygard said. “It happens. It was not my best outing, and the only thing I can do is bounce back and do better next time.”
Kade Gerlack came in and gave River five solid innings of relief to counter six excellent innings from Washougal’s starting pitcher Kirk Brown.
The game was tied 2-2 after six innings with neither team using a hit to score any of their runs.
Washougal took a 1-0 lead in the third when Jason Powell stole home on a pick-off attempt at first.
River loaded the bases in the fourth, scoring on an error and a fielder’s choice to take a 2-1 lead.
Washougal tied in the fifth when Blaine Bea, who doubled to open the inning, scored on a groundout.
The game’s first run-scoring hit game in the top of the seventh when Alex Orr doubled home Bea to give Washougal a 3-2 lead.
Then, it was River’s turn.
“In the seventh, we were just looking to get some guys on,” Donohue said. “We felt if we could turn the lineup order, we’d give ourselves a chance to score.”
Nick Alder and Koben Jamison opened the inning with singles. Derek Mettler tried to bunt the runners over and reached on an error to load the bases.
Nygard came up seeking a shot at redemption from his short pitching performance. The senior lined a single to center to score Alder to tie the game. Jamison tried to score to win it, but he was ruled out for colliding with Washougal catcher Julien Jones at the plate.
That left runners on second and third with one out. Then Wisch shot the ball down the left-field line to send Mettler home with the winning run.
“We’ve got a lot of young talent, and we’re starting to get the bats rolling,” Nygard said. “It’s been tough so far this season, but we’ve got a great pitching staff. Kaden and Koben are great senior arms for us. And if we can get the bats rolling, we’re definitely going to win a lot of games.”
