After enduring two hard losses to West Linn, the visiting Tualatin baseball team flipped the script to stun the three-time defending state champions 4-1 to close out a three-game series on Friday night.
The Timberwolves (14-7, 7-5 Three Rivers League) were led by their battery mates, Trenton Hertzog and Isaac Pfeifer, to deal the Lions (18-4, 11-1) their first league loss and second defeat to an Oregon team this season.
And Hertzog got Tualatin out to a blistering start on the mound, holding West Linn to no hits in the first three innings en route to fanning eight batters over seven full innings.
Oregon high school baseball: West Linn Lions vs. Tualatin Timberwolves
The junior also was effective at the plate with an RBI in first and seventh inning to pace the Timberwolves with two hits.
“I just stayed consistent,” Hertzog said about his performance. “This was what I was hoping for and I did just that. I felt good and confident about every pitch, that’s what kept me hitting my spots and everything.”
He added: “We did a really good job flushing the past two games with them out of our head. We just kept the energy and got on to the next game and everything, next pitch, next at bat and that’s what kind of kept us in it.”
Losing 11-3 and 11-1 in the first two games of the series definitely didn’t sit quite right with Timberwolves head coach Jacob Austin. The coach wanted to see his bounce back and was glad to see his pitcher get them out fast.
“He kind of set the tone for us,” Austin said about Hertzog. “Really filled up the strike zone and challenged their hitters and competed well for us. We had some timely hits to get some RBIs. It was just a good kind of bounce back performance by our guys.”
He added: “We had them two rough games to start the series where they kind of put it on us and put us to beat down. So we needed to start out early. We wanted to kind of get ahead first and make them play from behind, because they’ve been playing with the lead the whole series. So we wanted to flip that, try to get a little momentum going.”
And following his pitcher’s lead, Pfiefer added another blow to the Lions by unloading a double RBI triple just in front of the left field fence to give his Timberwolves a commanding 3-0 lead.
The starting catcher came in clutch to smack the full-count hit after Hertzog’s first RBI, knowing that would put West Linn in a daunting hole.
“It was a huge momentum shift in the game to give us a little insurance,” Pfiefer said.“I just had a battle. There was no way I was striking out, and I just kept fighting hard. And then, he finally hung one and I made him pay.”
Seeing pitcher and catcher in sync was the advantage that Tualatin needed with nearly flawless game compared to the two uncharacteristic errors that West Linn committed in the top of the fourth inning.
“Isaac is great, he is the best defensive catcher in the state,” Austin said. “He was unbelievable. He was receiving balls all night. Our pitchers love throwing to him. It’s a lot of confidence.”
Hertzog added: “Oh my, I just love him. I feel so confident on the night when I have him back there. He’s a wall. Keeps everything in front of him, and it’s just great. He just has arm cannons. I love him.”
West Linn did find some life midway through the fourth inning with right fielder Caden Klouda waking up the crowd with a double before Carson Doblie cracked a hit to midfield to bring him home.
But it wasn’t enough as Hertzog answered with a RBI double for the insurance run before finishing with two strikeouts in the seventh inning, giving a 6-3 hit advantage over West Linn.
It was a victory that added nothing but confidence for Tualatin, knowing that it just needs to keep digging to get where it wants to go.
“I think it’s really huge,” Hertzog said. “I think our whole team knows that if we keep energy going into every other game we’re gonna be great, and I think we’re gonna do really good.”
Pfeifer added: “This win is really gonna carry us into next week. It will help us finish out our league play, and then hopefully keep us on a roll into the playoffs.”
More Oregon high school sports
Subscribe to the High School Sports+ newsletter
Sign up here to get exclusive news and insights from high school sports editor Nik Streng.