CCC pitcher Grayson Fenwick
Photo by Jonathan Villagomez

Clackamas Community College’s baseball team split a double-header against Clark Community College on Monday, winning the first game 7-3 and dropping the second game 4-3. Currently, Clark is leading the five game series 2-1, which has been postponed due to rain.

In the first game, the Cougars got off to a strong start. Sophomore second baseman Berry Hunt hit a single, stole second base and scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore shortstop Renner Stecki giving Clackamas a 1-0 lead.

Sophomore pitcher Cody Anderson started for the Cougars and was showing his best stuff early, striking out four of six batters to start the game. Anderson didn’t give up a hit to Clark until the fourth inning, only allowing three hits through seven innings of work. Anderson finished the day with six strikeouts, and would earn his second win of the season.

“I was really excited to play [Clark],” Anderson said. “I wanted to beat these guys because my first career loss was against them, so, these were the guys I really wanted to get.”

Clackamas received more offense in the third inning when freshman third baseman Nathan Loranger started the inning off with a double and scored on a run batted in single by Stecki, giving Clackamas a 2-0 lead through 3 innings. In the fourth inning they tacked on two more runs with sophomore designated hitter Grant Horwitz scoring on a wild pitch and sophomore outfielder Andy Schubert scoring on a run batted in single by Loragner.

“I think guys are settling in and starting to see the ball better,” Loranger said. “We’re having better approaches, our batting is definitely coming around.”

The Cougars added three more runs in the seventh inning as Stecki hit a single that scored Loranger and Hunt, then scoring himself on a wild pitch, extending Clackamas’ lead to 7-0.

Clackamas turned to freshman pitcher Derek Eubanks for possible save opportunities and it looked like Eubanks was going to pick it up, retiring the first five Clark batters he faced, until Eubanks’ luck ran out. He faced five batters after recording two outs and after giving up three runs before he was pulled from the game and sophomore pitcher Grayson Fenwick replaced him. Fenwick struck out the only batter he faced, and the game was over, Cougars win 7-3.

In game two, Clackamas jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as sophomore Cody Gleason scored on a double hit by sophomore Tyler Parker. The Penguins would tie the game in the top of the second inning, but the Cougars’ bats stayed hot as Clackamas scored two runs to regain the lead in the bottom of the second inning, 3-1.

Sophomore utility man Tyler Oscarson started game two on the mound for Clackamas. Dealing for five innings, Oscarson threw three scoreless innings and struck out five, but allowed three runs and left the game when it was tied 3-3. Freshman pitcher Cameron Gleason came in as a relief pitcher and struck out the second batter he faced, but didn’t make it through the sixth inning, giving up a run that gave Clark the lead 4-3. Fenwick was called in from the bullpen, pitching in relief for the second time Monday. Fenwick walked the first batter he faced, but got out of the inning, striking out the second batter he faced.

After the third innings, the Cougars bats went ice cold and eight batters were put-out in a row. Horwitz ended the Cougars’ slump with a single in the sixth, but Clackamas was never able to score the tying run, losing 4-3 in seven innings. Gleason was charged with the loss, his first of the year.

“That’s baseball. You win some, you lose some,” Anderson said. “At the end of the day, sometimes we don’t get what we want, and we got to come out tomorrow and kick some ass.”

Splitting the double-header moved the Cougars to 9-11 overall in the season, and 4-4 in league play, sitting in third place in the South Region.

“We’re a little disappointed by the losses,” Parker said. “We’ve got four losses in league and they’re all by one run. We know we’re right there, but we can’t let games slip up like that.”

Clackamas will begin a series against Mt. Hood Community College on Friday. The series was scheduled to start on April 10, but was delayed due to rain.